Page 82 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist Art, New York

80 SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK 10 SEPTEMBER 2019 BODIES OF INFINITE LIGHT

he present figure holds the proper right hand in other than from Cave Temples, Tokyo, 1966, pl. 294a,
the abhaya mudra, a powerful gesture meant to and another related example, ibid., pl. 266d. Another
T dispel fear. The Historical Buddha is thought to similar example, attributed to the Tang period, although
have employed this gesture in the Jataka tale of Nalagiri smaller and without a base, was in the collection of James
charging Siddhartha. In the anecdote, the envious Marshall Plumer (1899-1960), and sold in these rooms,
Devadatta plies the white elephant with alcohol and lets 18th-19th March 2014, lot 176. Compare as well a figure
the beast loose in Siddhartha’s path. The Buddha calms still with its mandorla and further raised on a squared
the raging elephant with a solemn raise of his hand. This openwork base, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
particular mudra was often depicted by artisans from the and illustrated Hai-Wai Yi-Chen. Chinese Art in Overseas
Northern and Southern to Tang dynasties when painting Collections. Buddhist Sculpture, vol.1, Taipei, 1986, pl.
and sculpting images of the Buddha. Other elements from 81; and another, attributed to the 8th century, from the
the tales of the life of Shakyamuni were also commonly collection of Peng Kai-dong and now in the National Palace
featured in cave wall paintings from the same time period, Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Lee Yu-ming and Chung
and when the Pure Land tradition became a prominent Tzu-yin, Imprints of the Buddhas: Buddhist Art in the
vehicle, images of Amitabha’s Western Paradise joined National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 2015, cat. no.
cave wall imagery. 22. In these two figures one can clearly see the intended
use of the apertures for the insertion of mandorlas.
Compare a related example, attributed to the Tang Another closely related figure, similarly cast in all aspects
dynasty, with similarly styled hair whorls, the robe with a save for an exposed proper right shoulder, once in the
similar border of incised undulating lines, also draped over collections of A.D. Brankston, Mrs. W.H. Roberts, and Dr.
the foot in the same fashion, raised on a base of related Ip Yee, was sold first in our London rooms 15th December
design, illustrated in Saburo Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist 1981, lot 29, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th
Sculpture: A Study Based on Bronze and Stone Statues
November 1984, lot 17.