Page 40 - Irving Collection Part II Chinese Art

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L A C Q U E R • J A D E • B R O N Z E • I N K T H E R V I N G C O L L E C T I O N 髹金飾玉 - 歐雲伉儷珍藏

1102 A SILVER- AND COPPER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF A BUDDHA
WESTERN TIBET, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

Seated in vajrasana upon a rectangular throne decorated with lotus While few published examples share these stylistic details, a similar fgure of
petals below addorsed lions and a draped textile, the broad chest partially a buddha, with an almost identically unusual representation of dhyanamudra,
wrapped in a diaphanous robe with an incised diaper pattern along the can be found in the collection of the British Museum (acc. no. 1966,0216.1).
hems, the face with copper-inlaid lips, downcast, silver-inlaid eyes, and The British Museum describes the sculpture as an 8th-century Kashmiri
arched brows, the hair covering a spherical ushnisha work, whereas Ulrich von Schroeder attributes it to the sixth-century in
Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 112 fg. 13A. Both attributions
12º in. (31 cm.) high
are certainly based on the Gupta-style, full facial features and the medieval
$100,000-150,000
Indian-style inlay used to render the fgure’s eyes and lips. The present fgure
certainly shares these features but is not as worn from handling, possibly
PROVENANCE
The Pan-Asian Collection (Christian Humann, d. 1981), New York, by 1971. suggesting a later date.
Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, by 1982.
Other noticeable diferences between the British Museum example and
Eastern Pacifc Co., Hong Kong, 9 July 1990.
the present fgure indicate a diferent place of origin. The distinctly Tibetan
The Irving Collection, no. 2944.
features of the present example include the details of the throne, which the
EXHIBITED
Kashmiri example lacks entirely. The more-structured lotus petals and lions
On loan to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (L.71.29.32), by 1971.
resemble those in early Tibetan paintings from central Tibet. As Rhie
LITERATURE and Thurman point out in their entry for this sculpture within their 1991
Marilyn Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: publication Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, p. 344, this
The Sacred Art of Tibet, New York, 1991, p. 344, no. 137. image is representative of the equal infuence of Kashmiri and central-
Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 31426. Tibetan styles at play in Western Tibet. The Kingdom of Ladakh, for
instance, had close commercial ties with Kashmir during the period of the
This rare bronze fgure of a buddha sits in a meditative posture, his hands second dissemination known as the Tibetan Renaissance (c. 950-1200).
overlapping so that the fngertips on each of his hands reach just beyond Moreover, lions were often used indiscriminately within this early Tibetan
his opposite wrist. The roundness of his downcast eyes is emphasized by tradition to adorn the thrones of deities, a tradition to which fourteenth-
the light-catching silver inlay contrasting with the copper inlay of the full century murals at Shalu Monastery in Shigatse attest. Taking those
lips. He is modeled with pronounced facial features, a notably short neck, considerations into account, the fgure’s mudra makes it impossible to
round shoulders, tubular limbs, and robust proportions. The rice-grain say whether this is the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or the tathagata
hem of his robe, draped over the left shoulder, comes to a narrow, folded Amitabha, who is typically represented with his hands in dhyanamudra.
end at the shoulder in the shape of a swallow’s tail. Despite the lions What is certain, however, is that this image was made during a critical
adorning his square lotus throne, which typically support the historical period of artistic evolution in Tibet.
Buddha Shakyamuni, this buddha remains iconographically unidentifable
and may represent Shakyamuni or Amitabha. 西藏西部 十一至十二世紀 銅錯銀嵌紅銅佛坐像

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