Page 128 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

Although Buddhas —that is, beings who have attained enlightenment
and have entered nirvana —are typically cloaked in the robes of a
Buddhist monk and customarily lack jewelry and a crown, Vajradhara,
following Nepalese and Tibetan convention, characteristically appears
in the guise of a bodhisattva. (A bodhisattva is a benevolent being
who has gained enlightenment but has selflessly postponed entry into
nirvana in order to help other sentient beings achieve enlightenment—
i.e., to deliver all living creatures from suffering.) Bodhisattvas are
thus portrayed in the trappings of an early Indian prince, a reference
to Siddhartha Gautama’s worldly status as a crown prince before he
became the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni , implying that just as
Siddhartha (traditionally, c. 563–c. 483 BC) became a Buddha, so will
bodhisattvas eventually become Buddhas, once all sentient beings have
attained enlightenment and entered nirvana.

In the guise of a bodhisattva, Vajradhara is richly attired and is
represented with long hair arranged in an imposing coiffure with
a tall bun atop the head and with long strands cascading over the
shoulders; a braid of hair encircles the base of the topknot, and a jewel
appears at its summit, the jewel known variously as a manibaozhu and
a mounibaozhu. Small ringlets of hair follow the hairline across the
forehead, down the temples, and around the nape of the neck. As the
Primordial Buddha, Vajradhara wears an elaborate crown with eight
vertical, jewel-embellished lappets in contrast to a bodhisattva’s crown
which typically has five rising lappets—the eight lappets a reference to
the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path to enlightenment and escape from
the samsara cycle of birth and rebirth. He wears ornamental scarves,
a dhoti of rich silk brocade, and a wealth of jewelry that includes
armlets, bracelets, anklets, and long chains of beads as well as large,
circular earrings whose size and style reflect the Nepalese origin of this
iconographic type. As if animated by a gentle breeze, ribbons from the
crown flutter above the deity’s ears on either side. Detail of current lot
本拍品細圖

金剛乘，在英文中常譯為「Thunderbolt Vehicle」（雷電乘）或「Diamond Vehicle」（鑽石乘），是一支在印度、西藏、
尼泊爾一帶發展出的密宗佛教。在佛教悠久的歷史中，金剛乘標誌著佛教教義從大乘佛教的教法思辨到個人生活實踐
的轉變。從字意上看，「金剛」意即「雷電」、「鑽石」、「堅不可摧」，指向人絕對真實不滅的部分，而非其對自身本質
虛構出的假象；「乘」指珍貴無比、不可摧毁的修行法門。

金剛總持總以坐姿示人，而此尊坐佛正盤坐在尼泊爾式的雙蓮花底座上。如同其威嚴的地位一般，金剛總持坐姿正式
端正，昂首挺直脊椎與肩膀，與藏漢式菩薩較不正式的 S 形彎曲姿勢有所不同。其盤腿而坐呈漢藏佛教中的金剛座，
此種雙足交疊於大腿上，腳底朝上，腳跟盡量貼腹的坐姿也稱為蓮華坐。雙蓮花底座上層蓮瓣朝上，高度約為蓮瓣
朝下的下層一半；底座的頂部和底部皆以珠飾環繞。

佛為證得菩提、進入涅槃的覺者，形象通常為披著袈裟的和尚，鮮少有首飾和冠飾。然而金剛總持在尼泊爾和西藏
傳統中會示現為菩薩。菩薩為本已證悟的覺者，持慈悲心不入涅槃，倒駕慈航普度眾生，成就眾生的開悟。因此，
菩薩的形象參照了歷史上釋迦牟尼佛在成佛前為喬達摩悉達多太子（傳統上約為公元前563—公元前483）的世間身份，
被描繪為古印度的王子，意指菩薩在一切有情眾生悟道後，也會如同悉達多一般成佛入滅。

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