Page 34 - 2020 Nov 30 Christie's Hong Kong Important Chiense Works of Art
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A RED SANDSTONE BUDDHIST ̪͟ ☾⊐ඝ⧞ᩓᝳॲ⋴
‘PARINIRVANA’ STELE
ϝᬝ
FIVE DYNASTIES PERIOD-SONG DYNASTY (AD 907 – 1279)
ჺ㐟ᙻझ࢈
The stele is of rectangular form and carved in high relief at the
centre with a scene depicting the Buddha lying to one side on a ൣ
horizontal platform with both hands alongside the body and the
Ƕഌ㰍ⵖǷ卿⪝Ⲗ㪿㫀卿झ࢈卿 ჺ
head resting on a pillow before five acolytes framed within an
arch-shaped border, and surrounded by an upper and a lower stupa ទ⒢┐ԋ㧿ߴ⊺㞐㘔⁋ཪ㯔शठڬ⯂卿㫐⭧ֳ⏜⏟⋎卿㫐⏖ᇤ㧶卿⯇ங
on either side in shallow relief. Each stupa accommodates a seated ㊄卿ᄍᙿ∪Ӭ␕ᅾຽǯ᫉ἃ㞐㘔ᕳཪד⯺ᱯᦏ卿㙤ߪὍἃǮ⯇ஙಗԠ
Buddha. One side edge of the stele is carved in high relief with a ካᆨǯഌԧדᘰ⎏Ƕഌ⯺ᱯᦏ⣌ǷԠӲӽד؝⊐᫉⩧ǯ
standing Bodhisattva standing on a lotus base.
24 Æ in. (63 cm.) wide
HK$240,000-350,000 US$32,000-45,000
PROVENANCE
Acquired in Taipei, 1994
EXHIBITED
High Tang Art, Taiwan Antique Dealers’ Association, Taipei, 2000
In Buddhism Parinirvana means nirvana-after-death. In this instance
the figure of Buddha is depicted at the point of passing from life to
death having attained nirvana during this lifetime. This imagery was
inspired by description of the final moments of the Buddha in the text
of the Mahaparinirvana sutra, and a transitional moment before the
resplendent appearance of the Buddhas of the past and the future.
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