Page 16 - Nitta Neitreya Buddha Christies Hong Kong May 2018

fig. 2 A four-sided stone Buddhist stele, Xianheng Era (670-674 C.E.) of Tang Dynasty
Fujita Museum collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 March 2017, lot 530
圖二 唐咸亨 (670-674) 石灰岩雕四面造像碑
藤田美術館舊藏 紐約佳士得 2017 年 3 月 15 日 拍品 530 號

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Early in the sixth century Buddhist monks calculated that roughly 1,000 結束，未來世彌勒佛的信眾因而大增。
years had passed since the Historical Buddha Sakyamuni had lived (c. 在此背景下，佛教徒漸捨之前流行的上生
563–c. 483 BC). Realizing that “a millennium” was at hand, Buddhist 說佛經，而取下生成佛論，致使公元六至
theologians speculated that the era of Sakyamuni might be coming to
an end, which resulted in increased worship of Maitreya as the Buddha 八世紀的彌勒佛造像隨之增加。由於彌勒
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of the Future. In that context, Buddhist devotees began to favour the 被視為釋迦牟尼佛在人間的繼任者，所以
several “descent and attainment of Buddhahood sutras” over the “ascent 這三百年間的石碑之上，兩者常一同出
sutras” that had earlier been popular, with a resulting increase in the 現，正面為結跏趺坐的釋尊，背面的彌
production of images of Maitreya as a Buddha in the sixth, seventh, and 勒則結善跏趺坐，情形正如紐約佳士得
eighth centuries. Given that Maitreya is to succeed Sakyamuni as the 於 2017 年 3 月 15 日推出的兩方大阪藤
presiding Buddha, stone steles 石碑 of those centuries often pair those
two Buddhas, depicting Sakyamuni seated in yogasana pose on the stele’s 田美術館藏石碑（拍品編號 530（圖二）
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front face and Maitreya seated in Western fashion with legs pendant on 及 531（圖三））。
the back face, as witnessed by two steles from the Fujita Museum, Osaka
大阪藤田美術館 , sold at Christie’s, New York, on 15 March 2017 (lots 530 本尊鎏金銅像端凝大氣，原應坐於台座形
(fig. 2) and 531 (fig. 3). 11 長方寶座之上，後者位居鎏金銅壇桌正
中，壇桌狀若飾壺門形牙條的四足小几。
This majestic, gilt bronze sculpture originally sat on a rectangular, plinth-
like throne which likely stood at the centre of a gilt bronze altar in the 此佛兩側原應有其他神祇，各按尊卑等級
form of a small table with four legs and cusped apron panels. Additional 對稱而列，人物組合為奇數，居中為彌勒
figures, hierarchically scaled and symmetrically arranged, would have 佛，兩側各有一脅侍菩薩，佛與菩薩之間
accompanied the Buddha, the grouping including an odd number 或加插一名僧侶或尊者，組合外沿各安放
of figures with the Buddha at the centre flanked on either side by a 一名守護神。此外，可能還有類似西方天
bodhisattva, perhaps with a monk or disciple tucked between the Buddha 使的飛天在群像上方盤旋，她們多以敬拜
and each bodhisattva, and perhaps with a guardian figure at each outer
edge of the assemblage. Akin to angels, celestial figures termed apsaras 佛祖、奏樂或獻祭供品花果的形象出現。
飛 天 likely hovered above, venerating the Buddha, playing musical 若證諸舊金山亞洲藝術博物館藏七世紀末
instruments, or making offerings of alms or flowers. A late seventh- or 或八世紀初的鎏金銅彌勒佛群像，即可一
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early eighth-century, gilt bronze Maitreya altar group in the collection of 窺本拍品原來的佈局（B60 B8+）。
the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, suggests the context in which this
sculpture originally appeared (B60 B8+). 成像之際，本尊身後應配有鎏金銅頭光或
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12 The Nitta Maitreya 新田舊藏鎏金銅彌勒佛