Page 70 - Christie's London Fine Chinese Ceramics Nov. 2019

A SEATED GILT BRONZE SCULPTURE

OF THE BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI

Robert D. Mowry, Senior Consultant, Christie’s
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums

This unusual gilt bronze sculpture represents a Buddha seated on a double- (the Historical Buddha), Amitabha (the Buddha of Infnite Light ), and
lotus pedestal. Presented in the guise of a monk, the robes, urna, ushnisha, Bhaisajyaguru (the Medicine Buddha).
benevolent countenance, distended earlobes, small snail-shell curls of hair, The particular Buddha represented by this sculpture most likely represents
and webbed fngers identify the fgure as a Buddha. Typically represented Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha. In fact, any Buddha may be shown
by a painted disk or an inset cabochon jewel—and often incorrectly termed seated and with the hands arranged in the bhumisparsha-mudra, due to the
a “third eye” or even a “caste mark”—the urna appears here as an integrally gesture’s association with enlightenment; even so, according to traditional
cast, raised dot in the “V” where the eyebrows meet on the forehead above Buddhist iconographic conventions, usually only the Buddha Shakyamuni is
the nose; according to the canonical texts, the urna is the curl of white hair shown with the right hand held in the earth-touching gesture.
between the Buddha’s eyebrows from which issues a ray of light illuminating Revered by virtually all sects of Buddhism, Shakyamuni, whose name means
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all worlds. The ushnisha, or cranial protuberance atop the head, symbolizes the “Sage of the Shakya Clan”, is the most recent Buddha to have lived in this
the expanded wisdom that the Buddha gained at his enlightenment; it serves world, so he is often called the Historical Buddha. He taught a Middle Way
as the Buddha’s diagnostic iconographic feature, as only Buddhas possess between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism and self-mortifcation.
an ushnisha. Open at the center, a halo in the form of a slender ring of lotus His teachings are transmitted in many sutras but principally in the Lotus
buds on a vine scroll encircles the Buddha’s head, emblemizing his divine Sutra, known in Sanskrit as Saddharma Pundarika Sutra and in Chinese as
status. (Symbolizing divinity, a halo is a circle, or disc, of light that appears Miaofa Lianhua Jing. He is best remembered for his Four Noble Truths, the
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behind the head of a deity; a mandorla is a full-body halo .) The gilded essence not only of his teachings but of Buddhism itself:
surfaces not only make the sculpture appropriate for representing a deity All life is sufering.
but symbolize the light that, according to the sutras, or sacred texts, radiates Sufering is caused by desire, or attachment.
from his body. To eliminate sufering, one must eliminate desire.
The Buddha sits in vajrasana, a cross-legged, yogic position, or asana, in To eliminate desire, one must follow the Eight-Fold Path.
which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs, soles up, the heels as Since Tang times (618–907), the Buddha Shakyamuni typically has been
close to the abdomen as possible, and the knees and legs arranged as shown together in a triad with Bodhisattvas Manjushri, the Bodhisattva
symmetrically as possible; placed atop the left thigh, the right foot and of Transcendental Wisdom, and Samantabhadra—Wenshu and Puxian in
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leg thus conceal from view the left shin, ankle, and foot. (Also termed Chinese—standing on either side of him. (A bodhisattva is a benevolent
padmasana, or lotus position, this position is known as vajrasana in being who has attained enlightenment but who has selfessly postponed
Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism.) The Buddha lowers his right hand in the entry into nirvana in order to assist other sentient beings in gaining
bhumisparsha-mudra, or earth-touching gesture, in which he extends his enlightenment and thereby release from the samsara cycle of birth and
right hand, palm outward, over his right knee to touch the earth in order rebirth .) In earlier times —and occasionally in later times, as well—
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to call it to witness his enlightenment. (A ritual hand gesture, a mudra Shakyamuni is sometimes shown in the company of Maitreya who, as the
symbolizes a particular action, power, or attitude of a deity.) As the Buddha Buddha of the Future, eventually will succeed Shakyamuni.
had been meditating immediately before attaining enlightenment, his left The style of this sculpture incorporates Chinese, Tibetan, and Nepalese
hand remains in his lap, palm upward, in the dhyana-mudra, or meditation elements, but the sculpture’s precise date and place of creation have yet
gesture. to be determined with precision. Even so, it is likely that it was produced
“Buddha” means “the Enlightened One” . A Buddha is an individual who has in the ffteenth century in an area removed from Beijing, perhaps in the far
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attained enlightenment and has entered into nirvana. Typically presented northwest of China. From the Chinese tradition, this sculpture drew the
in the trappings of a monk, the Buddha generally is depicted with a single fgure’s stocky proportions, the relatively plain drapery enlivened with a
head, two arms, and two legs; he may be shown standing or seated and meticulously wrought hem sporting a foral arabesque, and the arrangement
always displays a benevolent countenance. He wears a monk’s robes and of the robes that fall over the upper left arm in an elegant pattern of folds
may be shown either barefoot or with sandals (usually of plaited straw, and that cover the right shoulder, even as they leave the upper portion of
if represented); like monks, he usually is portrayed without jewelry. The the chest bare. From the Tibetan style, the sculpture drew the compressed
distended earlobes—which resulted from the heavy earrings that he wore double-lotus base and the fgure’s relatively square face with feshy cheeks,
in his youth as the crown prince of a small kingdom in the foothills of the small features pulled toward the center, dimples on either side of the mouth,
Himalayas, in present-day Nepal—symbolize his rejection of worldly life the slight S-curve to the upper eyelids, and the subtle ridges that defne the
and his embrace of the religious life. He may be represented with a shaven eyebrows. And from the Nepalese style, it drew the narrow, circular halo
pate or with short hair arranged either in wavy locks or in small, snail-shell open at its center, and likely also the somewhat rectangular openings in the
curls, as in the case of the present sculpture. The sutras state that Buddhas elongated earlobes .
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bear the “Thirty-two Marks of a Great Man”; the most typically portrayed The halo and the base arguably are the sculpture’s most unusual features;
of those marks are the urna, or circular mark at the center of the forehead, virtually unique, their styles are dificult to place in terms of date and location
the webbed fngers and toes, the ushnisha, or cranial protuberance atop his of creation. Difering from the typical Tibetan, or Tibeto-Chinese, double-
head, and the suggestion of light emanating from the body (through gilding lotus base — which includes two tiers of lotus petals, one upward facing and
and through the presence of a halo, mandorla, or both). one downward facing, as if refected in the waters of a lotus pond — the two
Mahayana Buddhism, the predominant form followed in traditional China, tiers of this base feature upward facing lotus petals in the top register and
holds that there are an infnite number of Buddhas, all of whom are a foral arabesque with a vine scroll encircling alternating lotus blossoms
deities. The Buddhas most widely worshipped in China, and thus those and lotus seedpods in the bottom register. In established fashion, a row of
most frequently portrayed in sculpture and painting, are Shakyamuni beading, worked after casting, borders the top and bottom of the base; an

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