Page 8 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

In 1982, officials permitted Alain to descend into the ‘Cave 在1982年，政府官員批准愛倫進入名為‘蝎子洞’的地牢，即布
of Scorpions’, a torture dungeon for prisoners deep within 達拉宮深處用於拷問囚犯的處所。在那裏他見到了眾多黑暗且
the bowels of Lhasa’s famous Potala Palace. There he found 陰冷的牢房，牢房的牆上掛著殘破不堪的唐卡、各種恐怖惊悚
a series of very dark, dank cells, where a few dilapidated 的刑具、甚至整片剝下的人皮。
thangkas still hung incongruously on the walls alongside a
fearsome array of sinister flesh-tearing equipment – and a 愛倫接下來的生涯如同歷險記般精彩。在另一次旅行中，愛倫
number of whole, flayed human skins. 穿著當地長袍偽裝成游牧者登上高原，在一座隱蔽的山頂上他
目睹了苯教傳統的‘天葬’儀式。不懂西藏方言的他拜訪並拍照
But then much of Alain’s life reads like an exciting adventure 紀錄了眾多上師、高僧、以及隱居的修行者。愛倫回家後積
novel. During another trip, ascending the highest points of 極地分享他的田野考察成果，在消除西方世界對於西藏 ‘香格
the plateau camouflaged in the local robes of a nomad, he 里拉’的誤解之餘，同時也培養大眾對其深厚的神祕主義色彩
witnessed an extraordinary traditional Bon ‘Sky Burial’ on 的欣賞。
a hidden mountain peak. And despite speaking no Tibetan
dialect, he visited and photographed holy teachers, senior 愛倫於1962年結婚，婚後其妻子希拉 (Sheila) 也開始對西藏宗
monks, and solitary mystics in their secluded hideaways. 教文化著迷。她也深受這個神秘藝術傳統的啟發，並且熱誠地
Alain actively shared his field research back home, cultivating 支持愛倫在英格蘭進行西藏藝術及法器收藏。此次邦瀚斯有幸
appreciation for its deep mysticism, while dispelling Western 為大家呈現愛倫與希拉夫婦收藏的專題拍賣，藉此推出兩位在
misconceptions of Tibet’s ‘Shangri-La’. 五十餘年中精心囊選的研究藏品。雖然時至今日人們仍對西藏
文化知之甚淺，然而此次拍賣見證了愛倫在西藏宗教文化研究
Marrying in 1962, Alain’s wife Sheila came to share his 弘揚方面所做出的畢生貢獻。
fascination with Tibet. She too was inspired by its arcane art
and traditions, and enthusiastically supported Alain’s project
to form a wide-ranging collection of Tibetan art and ritual
implements while back at home in England. The collection
offered at Bonhams in this single owner auction represents
the entire remaining study group assembled by Alain and
Sheila over a 50-year period. It is a testament to Alain’s
commitment for his entire adult life to the study, preservation,
and appreciation of Tibetan ritual artefacts – still to this day one
of Asia’s least-understood cultural traditions.

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