Page 33 - Sothebys Buddhist Metalwork From The Collection of Tuyet Nguyet And Stephen Markbreiter May 26 2021

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A RARE PARCEL-GILT COPPER-ALLOY SET OF 明十五世紀初
VAJRA AND BELL HANDLE 局部鎏金銅金剛鈴柄及金剛杵一組兩件
MING DYNASTY, EARLY 15TH CENTURY
23 and 18 cm

HK$ 150,000-250,000
US$ 19,400-32,200

It is extremely rare to find a set of ritual vajra and bell 成套金剛鈴及金剛杵，十五世紀存世至今，相當難
created in the early 15th century. Although the bell itself 得，金剛鈴的鈴身雖為後造，其鈴柄年代、做工、
appears to be a later replacement, the precise casting style 風格，均與本金剛杵極為相似，紋飾細膩精緻，佛
and texture of the decoration and patina on the vajra handle 面、魔羯魚生動有力，呼應永宣年間宮廷佛教藝術
of the bell closely match that of the vajra itself. The intricacy 之巔峰。
of the construction of both ritual vessels, especially the
powerful articulation of the Buddha heads on the bell, and
makara heads on both, pay testimony to the consummate 金剛鈴相伴金剛杵，象徵智慧、無堅不摧，證悟空
skill of the Yongle or Xuande court craftsmen. 性，破除無明。鈴柄下承佛首，著五佛冠，象徵五方
佛，金剛杵之五股亦同，杵身中段為金剛薩埵，二端
The vajra bell (ghanta) is the companion of the vajra sceptre,
representing the voidness of wisdom that is indivisible from 四股自魔羯魚口中湧出。
great bliss, and the clear light transparency of ultimate
voidness that complements the body of Buddhahood. 金剛鈴、杵成套，分持於左右手，意謂陰陽相合，杵
Beneath the vajra handle, there is a Buddha with five-pointed 代表救贖，鈴代表智慧，廣用於許多藏傳佛教法事。
jewel crown representing the five transcendent Buddhas,
which are also represented by the five prongs of the vajra 參考北京故宮博物院藏一件銘宣德年製款金剛鈴，
itself. The central round spot of the vajra handle represents 錄於《清宮藏傳佛教文物》，香港，1992年，圖版
the Buddha Vajrasattva, the archetypal Tantric Buddha form. 132-1，還有一例售於香港蘇富比，2012年10月9日，
The prongs emerge from the mouths of four makaras who 編號311；另一例展於《Sacred Symbols: The Ritual Art
dwell at the bottom of the universe ocean.
of Tibet》，紐約，1999年，編號11。十五世紀達賴喇
The pairing of the vajra with the bell symbolises compassion 嘛二世之鎏金銅金剛杵，現藏台北故宮博物院，刊
or the ‘male’ skill in means for salvation; the bell was the 於《院藏藏傳佛教文物》，台北，2016年，頁 226，
symbol of supreme knowledge seen as female. Together 圖 V-58。
they constituted a unity of coefficients for salvation. Held in
the right and left hands respectively to make elaborate ritual
movements, they are also the attributes of many deities.
For other bells of this type with a Xuande reign mark and
of the period, see one, in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in
the Qing Palace, Hong Kong, 1992, pl. 132-1, one sold in these
rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 311 and another included in the
exhibition Sacred Symbols: The Ritual Art of Tibet, New York,
1999, cat. no. 11. Another 15th century gilt copper alloy vajra
and bell from the collection of the second Dalai Lama, now in
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Tibetan
Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2016, p.
226, fig. V-58.

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