Page 316 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong April 2, 2019 Sotheby's

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A RARE PARCEL-GILT BRONZE VOTIVE STUPA 清康熙 局部鎏金銅佛塔
MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI (IN
ACCORDANCE WITH 1670) 四面鑄《佛說造塔功德經》偈語：
諸法因緣生，我說是因緣。
of square form, cast with a stepped lower base decorated 因緣盡故滅，我作如是說。
on each side with four disciple monks, surmounted by
a main body surrounded at each corner with one of the
Guardians of the Four Directions, each side decorated with 弟子比丘［...］同造送，東莞芥庵永遠供養。時康熙
a medallion enclosing various figures, including Shakyamuni 庚戍孟秋吉旦。傳籌造 。
Buddha, Samantabhadra on an elephant, Avalokiteshvara
and Manjushri, the figures and inscriptions accentuated with
gilding, the removable tapering pillar similarly decorated
with gilding, the lower edge of the stupa with a dedicatory
inscription dated to the gengshu year of the Kangxi reign (in
accordance with 1670),with original sutras
33 cm, 13 in.
HK$ 1,200,000-1,500,000
US$ 153,000-192,000

This extremely rare dated stupa, preserved in unusually the square stupa base are niches on each face of the
good condition, is of documentary importance in recording stupa with a Dhritarashtra (East), Vaishravana (North),
an event of consecration at Jiean Temple in Dongguan, Virupaksha (West) and Virudhaka (South). The Four
Guangdong, in the early Kangxi period. Guardians protect the four torana or gates of the outer level
of the stupa as mandala, each with a circular medallion
The creation of stupa or reliquaries as a means to preserve enclosing Shakyamuni Buddha, Samantabhadra on an
and glorify the remains of important religious figures is a
common historical practice throughout the Buddhist (and elephant, Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri. Prototypes of the
pre-Buddhist) world, as architectural monuments and current stupa include a repousse silver votive stupa from
the Northern Song dynasty, dated by inscription to A.D.
later, as portable shrines. Stupa derive from ancient Indian 986, formerly in the collection of J.T. Tai, included in the
burial mounds and were incorporated into Buddhism as
containers of the relics of the Buddha and other holy figures, exhibition J.J. Lally & Co., Silver and Gold in Ancient China,
as a reminder of his enlightenment and symbolic of his New York, 2012, cat. no. 21. For other stupas of similar form
from the period, see two examples assigned to the 17th/18th
physical body and teachings. They portray cosmological century, one from the collection of Avery Brundage, now
representations of the Buddhist universe, and their forms
are doctrinally regulated—the stepped plinths represent the housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object
stepped form of Mount Meru, the centre of the Buddhist number B61B13, and another formerly in the collection of
Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, sold in our London rooms, 26th
cosmos, while the layers of the tall conical spire symbolise November 1984, lot 17.
the states of enlightenment.
The current stupa is preserved in unusually good condition,
This distinctive form of square Buddhist reliquary is known with the original sutras intact. The twenty-character
as an Ashoka Stupa, called Ayuwangta in China. The name
refers to an important early royal patron of Buddhism, inscription inscribed in gilt around the top of the stupa is an
the Indian King Ashoka (r. 272-231 B.C.) of the Maurya excerpt from a Buddhist sutra concerning Nidana doctrines.
The incised inscription around the base relates to a disciple
Dynasty who, according to legend, commissioned 84,000 monk, alongside a companion, who had this dedicated in
monasteries and stupas for Buddhist scriptures and relics.
The design of a stupa, such as the current work, is based Dongguan, to be consecrated for eternity, in the Kangxi
upon the three-dimensional mandala corresponding image gengshu year (1670). The temple had been built by two
abbots named Kongyin and Tianran.
depicting the Guardians of the Four Directions. Above

Mark

314 SOTHEBY ’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART