Page 18 - jingyatang sculptures march2018

DIGNITY AND GRACE:

AN EXCEPTIONAL AND RARE NORTHERN

WEI APSARA RELIEF

ᠳ̗ɱȠ:Ѐᙀ܉੏܉ਂຫ͉ĐɎ

REGINA KRAHL

֖ᢥම

This digni! ed image of a kneeling celestial being from the Jingyatang collection is moving ᱙ᄷ丈๖׼喑䲏ღ䲉䀽㢷௡喑䕍ಸ⢕➦喑Н㻃ᄣ
in its serene expression and unconventional in its iconography. Its three-quarter pro! le ren- Ⱕ喑㖲♣ࠂღȡ̰ܳ䲏䕍ಸᆙࡄ偼ⴠ䰂ڥಸ䷕ᵩ喑
dering is characteristic of the stylistic language of Northern Wei (386-534) stone carvers,
♣㠒䀃ڣ㇫⎈䰂ጒ喑ݴЃҸ䰐ᄸ喑㔹᱙׼᝭ॵ͸⿸
but it is di" cult to ! nd a comparable image of such sculptural quality, or any relief of this
倁᩵᳉喑ह᱌ⴠ䰂ϓ̺็㺸ȡ᱙׼䷕ᵩ䰃㜴͚స䛺
period that so successfully indicates three-dimensionality. In spite of close stylistic simi-
㺮ⴠ⿌䰂׼Ⱕ䶋喑ᅑ㜴⇠ࢄ咺䪭Ƞ䲼㍐ⴠ⿌䐰◧Ⱕ
larities with rock reliefs from China’s main cave temples, particularly those at Longmen and
䓾喑㔹「࣌ᆙ҂ౝ喑ᅇ᱗ज҉ⷧᄓჇ䀃ȡ咺䪭Ƞ䲼
Gongxian, both in Henan province and both commissioned by the Northern Wei imperial
family, it cannot be directly attributed to either of those caves. Both these gigantic imperial ㍐ⴠ⿌喑㺼὎Ả◧咽๔喑⩞ࡄ偼᱊ᐤ̸Б㜵ᐧ喑㇫
sculpture projects of course were determinant for the development of Buddhist sculpture ጒᓎ㸪喑♎⪾ᄺ҈᪆䕍׼⮩ᆂᒞ䴬䬉䢢喑͓ઌ⮩ₑ
and in# uenced rock carvings as well as free-standing steles of the period, and the present ᭯᱌ⴠ䰂ࣷⴠⶾ喑㻭ᄌₑ׼喑ᅑज㺸ڣ͚נឬȡ
! gure clearly stands in this tradition.
㉝㻭ₑ׼䵚丫ࣷ༬ᙸ喑ⴒڣ◧丈๖喑♣㔹ڣ᪡倁䷕
Although the headdress and pose of the current ! gure suggest an apsara, its overall ren- ᵩݴ⪝᫩ह᭯᱌፥㺸丈๖䕍ಸȡ丈๖喑็◧Іຠᒏ
dering deviates from the common depiction of apsaras known from this period. Apsaras 䆎喑丈㝋⾧͚喑ѡ᫩䀥҈㤖㫖ఈক喑᫩ԛ∂ح䏹͚
(Chinese feitian, ‘# ying in heaven’) tend to be angel-like female ! gures hovering in mid-air
♎㺮㖤喑♣㔹ࢨᆙ҈᪆ᒏ䆎䛺㺮䘕Ъ喑䱵䕥ٗ䯲喑
around the Buddha or bodhisattvas. While they do not have a strong liturgical function in
䊤㝋๼Ἧ喑ᰡᒝ๖⩹⺋⼅ȡ丈๖ᒏ䆎喑ः⎽࢝Ꮣ࣌
Buddhism, they play an important part in Buddhist imagery, where – depicted as grace-
ಸ喑जࣰ㔰ρ喔ښ̓㈭ࣷᰡᬖ⮱࢝Ꮣ㦄ऺ䭬᫰䭭ⴠ
ful, enchanting ladies playing musical instruments or performing dancing motions – they
⿌෮⪘ᬖ᱌ڥҸ喑⪘͚Іϧ㜵⁹䊤㝋喑ӈ丷䀥㖃ȡ
generally serve as enhancement of the heavenly realm. Indian prototypes clearly served as
models, such as the famous early depictions of apsaras from the wall paintings of the Ajanta
16 JINGYATANG: TREASURES OF CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE