Page 148 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

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This majestic figure of Chakrasamvara, measuring 60 cm. high, is a 勝樂金剛四面十二臂，藍色身，每面三目，正面為深藍色，右面為黃色，
rare example of large wood Buddhist sculptures made for the imperial 左面為白色，背後一面為紅色，正二手施金剛吽迦羅印，腳踏威羅瓦及
court during the early Qing dynasty. The impressive size, intricate details
and rich colours reveal the finest workmanship seen only on Imperial 黑夜女神，頭戴骷髏冠，腰繫人頭瓔珞，背披象皮，抱明妃金剛亥母，
works of art. The elaborate lotus petals, richly layered and enclosing 明妃腿盤繞本尊腰間，足下蓮花座。
scroll motifs, can be seen on some Kangxi Buddhist figures as well,
such as the famous figure of Avalokitesvara Shadakshari, commissioned 本造像尺寸碩大，造型華貴堂皇，尤其是飽滿立體的蓮瓣座，盡顯清代
by the Kangxi Emperor for his grandmother the Empress Dowager 宮廷風格。蓮瓣內外雙層，瓣尖具三個卷雲紋，兩側有祥雲牙子作裝飾，
Xiaozhuang in 1697, now in the collection of the Palace Museum. The 極為精美。康熙御製佛教造像中也見類似蓮瓣，如故宮博物院藏一尊
Kangxi Emperor, under the influence of his beloved grandmother, was a 康熙二十五年（1686），康熙帝為其祖母孝莊太皇太后所造的四臂觀音像，
devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism, and established the Office for the
Recitation of Sutras inside the Hall of Central Uprightness in 1697, 蓮座上蓮瓣的形制與本造像接近。康熙帝及其祖母孝莊太后虔誠禮佛，
an institution devoted to Tibetan Buddhist affairs specifically. 信奉藏傳佛教。康熙三十六年（1697年），特設中正殿念經處，處理宮中
佛教事務，可見帝王禮佛之心。
Chakrasamvara is the primary meditation deity of the various Kagyu 勝樂金剛又稱上樂金剛，是藏密無上瑜伽部母續的本尊，也是藏密無上
Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and together with Guhyasamāja and 瑜伽修法中尊奉的五大本尊之一。勝樂金剛造型多變，包括一面二臂、
Yanmāntaka, form the three most important deities of the Gelug School.
Chakrasamvara has many manifestations, including that of a single face 一面四臂、四面十二臂等；清宮供奉之大型勝樂金剛像，多見四面十二臂
with two arms, and a single face with four arms. However a number of 造型，如承德避暑山莊普樂寺旭光閣供奉一尊高250公分的大型銅勝樂
large-sized figures of Chakrasamvara preserved in Qing imperial temples 金剛像，造型與本造像相似；另外紫禁城雨花閣第四層中龕供奉的一尊
or palaces are represented with four faces and twelve arms, just like 銅合金勝樂金剛雙身像，亦是同類的四面十二臂造型。
the current figure. The Pule Temple in the Chengde Summer Palace,
for example, houses an enormous bronze figure of Chakrasamvara 本造像最早發布於1970年的出版《Art Lamaïque: Art des Dieux》，
measuring 250 cm. high, which has a similar pose as the current figure. 該圖錄另有一尊白壇木胎彩繪密集金剛像（見圖錄圖v7-v9），兩尊造像
Yuhuage (Pavilion of Raining Flowers), the Buddhist temple inside the
Forbidden City, preserves another figure of Chakrasamvara, similarly 無論材質、風格、製作技術或尺寸，均非常接近，很有可能與另一尊大
standing in yabyum embracing his consort with multiple arms and faces. 威德金剛像原為三尊一組的組合，代表藏傳佛教格魯派三位最重要的
本尊神。
The current figure was first illustrated in the publication Art Lamaïque :
Art des Dieux in 1970. In the same catalogue, there is a polychrome wood
figure of the deity Guhyasamāja of very similar size, style and technique
(pls. v7-v9), suggesting they were likely made in the same period,
possibly together with the deity Yanmāntaka, as a group of three.

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