Page 14 - Wrathful Images

Similarly, Panjarnata Mahakala was introduced to Eastern China in the Yuan period, during which Mongol
emperors such as Kublai Khan were advised–by the aforementioned Tibetan lama Chogyel Phakpa, in
this instance–to utilize the image of Panjarnata in the same fashion. As a protector in the political realm,
Panjarnata Mahakala played a significant role in Tibetan history and governance. In Tibet, Buddhism was
closely intertwined with political power, and the protector deities, like Panjarnata Mahakala, were believed
to safeguard the state and its rulers. His image was often placed in monastic and administrative buildings to
ensure the protection and well-being of the state. It was believed that invoking the power and protection of
Panjarnata Mahakala could help ensure political stability and the success of the Tibetan state.
In the Ming period, it was the Hongwu Emperor (r.1368–1398) who first pledged to continue engagement
with Tibetan Buddhism for the purpose of political legitimacy. The Yongle Emperor (r.1403–1424) further
emphasized this relationship, marking the peak of Tibetan Buddhist patronage and producing exceptional
gilt-bronze sculptures of Vajrayana deities such as the Kapaladhara Hevajra from the Bodhimanda
Foundation. Ming-dynasty patrons such as the Xuande Emperor (r.1425–1435)–whose name and mark is
visible on the Bodhimanda Foundation’s Panjarnata Mahakala–continued this tradition, commissioning
numerous sculptures and paintings mimicking pre-established styles of Tibetan paintings and sculptures
quite conspicuously (fig. 2; Tibetan Paintings: A Study of Tibetan Thankas Eleventh to Nineteenth
Centuries, Sotheby’s Publications: London, 1984, pl. 28; Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org, item
no. 99638).

寶帳大黑天同在元代東傳入漢，如忽必烈篤信八思 永宣二帝志心禮佛，北京宮廷乃鑄金銅造像，菩提曼
巴，元代君主皆尊上師，施用寶帳大黑天形象如出一 拏羅基金會所蓄二尊便出於此。因受宮廷扶持，此二
轍。寶帳大黑天乃國土護法，於藏地歷史及統治意義 尊或專為西北漢藏邊界一帶（今青海省）佛寺所造。
重大。在西藏，佛教與政治密不可分，寶帳大黑天等 一寺內有壁畫繪寶帳大黑天，與前述十五世紀西藏繪
護法則被視作安邦定國、護衛君主之神，其形象常置 畫頗似（圖三）。作此類殊勝金銅造像，既可積累福
於寺院及行政建築，祝頌福祚。依照信仰，召請寶帳 報，又可裨益政治。
大黑天神通護衛可保藏地長治久安。
明代宮廷造像如今大多存於博物館或曾受永宣等帝
明代，洪武帝（1368-1398年在位）延續以藏傳佛教 王供養之寺；此二尊尺寸碩大，近二十年來市場之所
為政，永樂帝更加發展，供養藏傳佛教尤勝前朝， 見罕有出其右者。其中，寶帳大黑天立像乃私人收藏
所施密宗金銅造像超凡絕倫，此尊菩提曼拏羅基金 宣德年款造像中最大一尊，高74公分，惟知兩尊永樂
會珍藏喜金剛便是一例。而後，宣德帝（1425-1435 菩薩像更碩，其一藏青海省博物館，其二藏巴黎賽努
年在位）亦沿襲西藏塑畫傳統，大量施造，風格鮮明 奇博物館。對比賽努奇博物館所藏名品：永樂年款
（圖二；《Tibetan Paintings: A Study of Tibetan 菩薩立像（藏品編號M.C. 5173）、宣德年款釋迦牟
Thankas Eleventh to Nineteenth Centuries》，蘇富 尼佛立像（藏品編號M.C. 686）。永樂喜金剛立像亦
比出版，倫敦，1984年，圖版28；喜馬拉雅藝術資源 偉岸非常，遍尋寺院及博物館收藏，尺寸相當者未見
網，編號99638），菩提曼拏羅基金會珍藏寶帳大黑 一例。
天帶宣德年款，即屬此類典型。

Fig. 1: Hevajra; China; Ming dynasty, Yongle period, ca.1417-1432; silk embroidery; 51⅝ x 32 in., 131 x 81 cm, Pritzker Collection. After
Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism, Rubin Museum of Art, 2019, p. 231, cat. no. 6.4.
圖一：喜金剛，明永樂，約1417-1432年，絹本刺繡，131 × 81公分，普立茲克收藏，展於《Faith and Empire: Art and
Politics in Tibetan Buddhism》，魯賓藝術博物館，2019年，頁231，編號6.4
22 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11409 23