Page 150 - Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London November 3, 2022

171
A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF THE MEDICINE
BUDDHA
Well cast with eyes downcast in meditative
expression, seated in dhyanasana atop a double-
lotus pedestal with Tibetan inscription on the
reverse, with the right hand raised in abhayamudra,
the left hand held gently in the lap in dhyanamudra,
dressed in a long flowing robes detailed with draping
folds and incised floral hems, with a prominent
usnisha formed with tightly coiled curls, the lotus
base incised with a Tibetan inscription.
24.5cm (9 6/8in) high.
£6,000 - 8,000
CNY47,000 - 63,000
銅鎏金藥師佛像

The Tibetan inscription incised at the base reads as
follow:

༡ ༄། བདེ་གཤེགས་མཚན་ལེགས་ཡོངས་དྲག་དཔལ་ལ་ན་མོ།།

Which may be translated as: ‘Homage to the Thus-
gone Supari¬kīrtita¬nāma¬dheyaśrī’

Supari¬kīrtita¬nāma¬dheyaśrī is known as the
Glorious Name Widely Renown. There seems to
be two slightly different Tibetan spellings: mTshan
legs par yongs bsgrags dpal and mTshan dpal shin
tu yongs su grags pa. He figures among the Thirty-
Five Buddhas of Confession, generally in the 28th
position.

The finely-cast figure depicts the Buddha reaching
forward with his right hand to call the earth to
witness his right to attain enlightenment. Rendered
with exceptional elegance, this sculpture perfectly
captures an idealised form of The Enlightened One.
Furthermore, the well-proportioned body clad in a
close-fitting garment with richly engraved seams
shows a high artistic sensibility.

The cult of the Medicine Buddha started in Northern
India before spreading to the Himalayas, East
Asia, and Southeast Asia. He is widely worshiped
in both Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism to
assist practitioners in overcoming physical, mental,
and spiritual sickness, and to purify karmic debt.
According to the Bhaisajyaguru sutra, he resides in
the Eastern Pure Land of Vaiduryanirbhasa,

The drapery and style are reminiscent of those
worn by a 15th century Tibetan gilt-bronze figure of
the Tathagata Aksobhya seated in front of a vajra,
illustrated in On the Path to Enlightenment: The Berti
Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum
Rietberg Zurich, Zurich, 1995, p.72, no.30.

See a related gilt-bronze figure of Buddha
Shakyamuni, 15th century, which was sold at
Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1037.
(inscription on the reverse of the figure)

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
148 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.