Page 12 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A COPPER ALLOY GHANTA
KOREA, GORYEO DYNASTY, 13TH/14TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61676
20.3 cm (8 in.) high

HK$150,000 - 250,000
高麗王朝十三/十四世紀 銅金剛鈴

This bronze ritual bell is powerfully modeled with complex detail. The
body of the bell depicts four celestial guardians of each direction:
Vaishravana of the North, holding a pagoda and a lance; Dhartarashtra
of the East, holding a bow and arrow; Virudhaka of the South and
Virupaksa of the West, both holding swords. The four guardians
alternate between vajras facing the sub-cardinal directions, molded in
the same shape as the bell’s three-pronged vajra-handle.

Ritual implements like the present lot provide material evidence of
tantric practices in Korea. Early esoteric practices in the country came
with Mahayana Buddhism’s introduction during 4th century. However,
it was not until 13th century, when the Mongols took control of Korea
and established relations with Tibet, that Tibetan Buddhism started to
infiltrate Korea. Korean monks met Tibetan lamas at the Yuan court
and Tibetan teachers travelled to Korea.

Large quantities of ritual implements were produced during the
13th and 14th centuries. Tantric rituals were regularly employed for
statecraft at the Koryo court (see Georgieva-Russ, “Esoteric Buddhist
Ritual Objects of the Koryo Dynasty: Vajra Scepters and Vajra Bells”,
1998, pp.2-3). Monks usually hold a vajra in the right hand and a
bell in the left, manipulating the implements while chanting mantras.
Considered the ‘voice of the Dharma’, the bell’s chime summons the
guardians.

Several ghantas of similar style and subject are housed in the Nara
National Museum in Japan, see Sources of Japanese Buddhist Art,
Nara, 1978, pp.195-6, nos.52-3.

Provenance
Alan Darer 1980s

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