Page 29 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

ShakyaMuni Preaching:

A MaSterpiece OF

ChineSe BuddhiSt ScuLpture

resented in the guise of a monk, this magnifcent sculpture, which this sculpture. Most prominent of all, the sanghati, or outer robe, which has
dates to the Northern Qi period (AD 550–577), represents a Buddha been embellished with applied gold, covers both shoulders and the chest
P as indicated by the robes, ushnisha, benevolent countenance, and then fows gracefully over the entire body, terminating just above the
distended earlobes, and webbed fngers. The ushnisha, or cranial ankles in a wide, U-shaped confguration. The outer edges of the sanghati
protuberance atop the head, symbolizes the expanded wisdom that loop over the arms and descend along the sculpture’s sides, suggesting a
the Buddha gained at his enlightenment, and it serves as the Buddha’s cape. Lacking a kushalaka, or cincture around the waist, the drapery fows
diagnostic iconographic feature as only Buddhas possess an ushnisha. The smoothly and elegantly over the body, clinging tightly enough to reveal the
gilded surfaces not only make the sculpture appropriate for representing a body’s presence and to suggest its form, from the broad shoulders and
deity but symbolize the light that, according to the sacred texts, or sutras, narrow waist to the swelling hips and columnar legs, but not so tightly as to
radiates from his body. reveal its anatomical structure in detail.
“Buddha” means “the Enlightened One;” he is an individual who has attained This sculpture originally would have stood on a carved lotus base of which
enlightenment and has entered into nirvana. In this sculpture, the Buddha is only the “seedpod” at the bottom of this sculpture remains today; with fat
standing and holds his right hand in the abhaya mudra, a preaching gesture top and slightly concave sides, the generally triangular seedpod would
in which the hand is raised, palm outward, in the attitude of ‘do not fear’. (A have been set within the central cavity of a circular lotus base on top of a
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ritual hand gesture, a mudra symbolizes a particular action, power, or attitude square plinth, anchoring the sculpture in an upright position. Rising from its
of a deity.) He holds his left hand in the varada mudra, or gift-giving gesture, lotus base, this majestic, gilt stone sculpture originally stood on an altar; it
in which the hand is lowered, palm outward. This combination of mudras— might have appeared alone but it more likely was part of a group of fgures.
often shortened to read abhaya-vara mudra—indicates that the Buddha Hierarchically scaled and symmetrically arranged, such a group would have
is preaching. Many diferent Buddhas hold their hands in the abhaya-vara included the the Buddha at the center fanked on either side by a bodhisattva,
mudra; even so, a Buddha with hands so positioned, the fngers elegantly perhaps with a monk or disciple tucked between the Buddha and each
arrayed and pointing straight up and straight down but without fngertips bodhisattva, and perhaps with a guardian fgure at each outer edge of the
and thumb touching to form a circle, is typically identifed as the Historical assemblage. A Sui-dynasty (AD 581–618) bronze altarpiece in the collection
Buddha Shakyamuni (traditionally, 563 BC – 483 BC), suggesting that this of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (22.407) suggests the context in which
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image likely represents Shakyamuni. this sculpture originally appeared, as does the late seventh or early eighth-
century, gilt bronze Maitreya altar group in the collection of the Asian Art
As described in the sutras, the Buddha wears three distinct robes, though Museum, San Francisco (B60 B8+). 3
not all are visible in every sculpture or painted image; in this sculpture, the
outer robe fully cloaks the fgure, for example, with the result that the other If presented as the central deity in a grouping, Shakyamuni likely would
robes are mostly concealed. Known in Sanskrit as the kasaya or ticivara, have been accompanied by Bodhisattva Manjushri, the bodhisattva of
the Buddha’s three robes comprise the sanghati, uttarasanga, and the transcendent wisdom, and Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of Buddhist
antaravasaka. Not tailored, each robe is a long, rectangular piece of cloth practice and meditation, thus forming a Shakyamuni Triad. (Meaning
that is wrapped around or draped over the body in a prescribed fashion. “enlightened being”, bodhisattvas are benevolent beings who have attained
Sometimes likened to a dhoti or sarong, the antaravasaka is an inner robe that enlightenment but who have selfessly postponed entry into nirvana in order
covers the lower portion of the body; wrapped around the waist, it typically to assist other sentient beings in gaining enlightenment and thus release
hangs from to the ankles, covering the hips and legs. Also an inner robe, from the samsara cycle of birth and rebirth.) Alternatively, as he is regarded
the uttarasanga covers the left shoulder and crosses the chest diagonally as the Buddha of the Future and thus the successor to Shakyamuni, the
but leaves the right shoulder and right arm bare; it covers the antaravasaka, Bodhisattva Maitreya might have accompanied Shakyamuni in place of
except for its lowermost edge, and is itself covered by the sanghati, which Samantabhadra or Manjushri. If disciples appeared in the grouping, they
is the outer robe that usually is the most visible and distinctive of the three likely would have been the youthful Ananda and the elderly Mahakasyapa,
robes. Additionally, there might be a kushalaka, a cloth or cord worn around Shakyamuni’s favorites.
the waist to hold the antaravasaka and uttarasanga in place; more rarely,
those inner garments may be secured in place by a samakaksika, or buckled That its back is fat and, though fnished, not fully modeled indicates that
belt. this sculpture stood before a mandorla, which likely was painted on the
wall behind the sculpture, the aureole suggesting light radiating from the
In this sculpture, the antaravasaka, the dhoti-like garment, is visible only at Buddha’s body and thus signaling his divine status. (Symbolizing divinity, a
the Buddha’s ankles, where it projects below the edge of the outer robe. halo is a circle, or disc, of light that appears behind a deity’s head; a mandorla
Completely covered by the outer robe, the uttarasanga also is not visible in is a full-body halo.)

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