Page 21 - Sothebys Buddhist Metalwork From The Collection of Tuyet Nguyet And Stephen Markbreiter May 26 2021

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A MAGNIFICENT GILT-COPPER ALLOY FIGURE 十三至十四世紀
OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA 尼泊爾或西藏鎏金銅釋迦牟尼佛坐像
NEPAL OR TIBET, 13TH - 14TH CENTURY
33 cm

HK$ 2,000,000-3,000,000
US$ 258,000-387,000

This magnificent large statue of Shakyamuni Buddha,
depicted at the moment of enlightenment, pays testament
to the skill of Newar artisans working in Tibet or the border
regions of Dolpo in the 13th / 14th century.
During the 13th century, the Tibetans embarked on
an extensive program of monastery construction and
refurbishment funded by wealthy landowners, kings and
religious leaders. The Newar artists from the neighbouring
kingdom of Nepal were famed for their exquisite aesthetic
sense and foundry skills, and were much in demand to build
and decorate the new Tibetan monasteries.
Up to the 13th century, the principal influence on the
development of the Tibetan sculptural tradition had been the
bronzes of medieval eastern India, with numerous examples
having been brought to Tibet from the motherland of
Buddhism. However, spiritual and artistic contact with India
waned following the virtual demise of Indian Buddhism in
the 12th century, brought about by Muslim invasions. Thus,
up to this point, Tibetan artistic taste had to a great degree
been inspired by spectacular Pala bronzes, which were for
the most part not gilded but often inlaid with copper and
silver, and frequently inset with brightly coloured stones to
complement the metal inlay. When the Newar artists were
commissioned en masse in Tibet in the 13th century they
brought their mastery of fire gilding to the mix, added to
their finesse in subtle and sensuous sculpture. The resulting
bronzes were often both inset with brightly coloured stones
and silver, as the Pala bronzes often were, and richly gilded
like almost all indigenous Nepalese bronzes, thus producing
an amalgamation of stylistic elements that is uniquely
Tibetan of this period.
In the Nepalese tradition, the sculpture is brilliantly gilded
and richly decorated with sumptuous gem settings, including
lapis lazuli, turquoise and coral intricately inset in lozenges
around the headband and at the shoulder. The Buddha is
robed in a simple diaphanous cloth clinging closely to the
body, with only the edges showing a band of decoration
consisting of a repeated chevron design. The Newar
sculptural aesthetics of grace and sensuous modelling imbue
the statue with serenity, while the Tibetan love for opulence
is seen in the depth and variety of colour in the jewels. Fine
coral and turquoise are amongst the most highly prized
gems in Tibet, worn by both men and women and offered as
adornment to the Gods. The combination of coral, turquoise
and lapis lazuli is not seen in the jewellery of statues made
in Nepal where garnet and emerald colours are used in
combination with light turquoise blue and the midnight blue
of lapis, often coloured glass.

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