Page 40 - 2020 Nov 30 Christie's Hong Kong Important Chiense Works of Art

3012 Continued

Richly cast in gilt-copper alloy, the present image of Vasudhara, the ⡚㠩㤒㞖ǯדᬓࢇ→Ӭ㬷ݪ⮥ǯ㙚Ꮘஶන卿ठ㑷㓀⸥ⱤǮႚ⭯ᝢ⏎ǯ㯔
goddess of fertility and wealth, is a paragon of Nepalese sculpture and ᏊՆ⶟Ɽވ卿ᏗᆨⱤ⢙卿⪆㱈஋∧ǯ㙁۬㕇ឬෞෆ卿מᏊ㮴㣓ক⮥㞧卿
embodies the mastery of early Malla period (1200-1482) bronze casting. 㧏ူ༾⒢ǯᏛ⮥ߎᑥ♚♩ক༾≡✙卿㛑ߎᑥ⁒㚃ഔǯ཭㛑ഔ㞖卿ࡺ᷐ऒ᧥ǯ
While there are various iconographic forms of Vasudhara throughout
South Asia, the six-armed seated image is most prevalent in Nepal, ㏏⦛דᬓ卿ᢹ㊥♑ǸႣ⡵㙤੕ǹ卿ᶴ㍖ᝳᑥӽⵐ⻉Ǯ㏏ᴹדᬓ✙ल卿ᛓ
where she is celebrated as a goddess of fertility and the land. The Ӭׅ⬒ഈ㐁Խ՞ٛ㏏༛⎏ഺ▵ǯӬ⯺㊘ἃ㏏⦛דᬓ⎏ؼփ卿ᝬߝ׹ᴹᙻ
attributes she holds – the sheaf of grain, the vase of immortality, the ऒࣇᄟ՞࿶ᑌ⎏ᯇ▵Ꮅ㎒ᘘഺ▵卿ᇌ׹ㄴדᘰग़ᘘ卿Ꮀἃഌԧדᘰ⎏Ӭ
string of jewels – all signify her role as a bestower of munificent wealth ׅ㞒㇝ⵐ⻉ǯ
and fecundity.
᫉۬ظᝳႶᐹᛞឆ㙁۬⎏㰍ᡟ卿ࡺᑐݯ༶┣㘆㧩ᙹᆨԆᇤᇤ߿۞⎏⮬
Nepalese sculpture in the period after the twelfth century exhibits
an important stylistic shift from the aesthetic of the earlier Licchavi 䂈Ǯឫ␓Ǯ㾁㟈䁉ࣿཎऑ✙⁞ᇨǯᬘ㖅Ӭཉ ӽ⡕Ⴖᐹᛞឆ⎏㤒㞖㠩
and transitional periods, which was rooted in the forms of Gupta ㏏⦛דᬓ۬卿 ჺ ᝲ ᚚᙻ⡥⡙צ೥ᇑᐽ㐈卿ᐽ৅ ⽚ǯݻᬘ㖅ഌ
India. While Licchavi-period bronzes are celebrated for their elegantly 㛢ᝯࢷ⁒㱦⻦Ӭཉ ⯍ ӽ⡕㲬ᐹᛞឆ⎏㤒㞖㠩㏏⦛דᬓ۬卻⻦৅⤔
languorous figures, by the thirteenth century, the new sculptural style is ⽚厍 卼卻ॲː卼ǯ
characterised by intricate detail and lavish ornamentation.
The present figure of Vasudhara perfectly embodies this new aesthetic
in all its glory. Seated in lalitasana, her six arms radiate fluidly from
broad shoulders - the lower two relaxed in her lap, the upper four
animatedly raised - creating a muscular arch in her back. Her ample
bust gives way to a tapered waist and full hips. Her pendant leg, gently
resting on a lotus blossom, suggests movement while her proper
left leg is delicately tucked beneath her. Her body is both robust and
elegant, her posture dynamic and graceful. The artist of this masterful
image perfectly merges the voluminous contours of the early Gupta
style with the refined intricacy of his time.
Adding to the present figure’s distinctive beauty is her wide, almost
rectangular face, which tilts gracefully downwards. Compare the
almond-shaped eyes, long aquiline nose and small mouth - features
reminiscent of Pala-period prototypes - with a twelfth-century gilt-
copper figure of Vasudhara, originally from the Pan Asian Collection,
sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2008, lot 511. Compare, also,
with slightly-later dated examples at the Cleveland Museum of Art (acc.
no. 1947.493) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1983.547)
(fig. 1), the latter of which is illustrated by C. Reedy in Himalayan
Bronzes: Technology, Style, and Choices, Newark, 1997, p. 237, fig. 273.

fig. 1 Vasudhara, Early Malla period, 14th–15th century, Nepal, Kathmandu
Valley; Gilt-copper alloy; 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm); The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Wesley Halpert, in memory of Emanuel
Winternitz, 1983; 1983.547
எӬ ཪᯜ‰卿࠼ᇪᶕ㛢㍽஠卿㲬ᐹᛞឆ卿 ⯍ ӽ⡕卿㤒㞖㠩㏏⦛דᬓ۬卿
Õ/”ÿ र卻 ݩߎ卼卿ഌ㛢ᝯࢷ⁒㱦⻦৅卿
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