Page 51 - Christie's Buddhist Art May 29, 2019 Hong Kong

fig. 1 Formerly in the Nitta Collection, now in the collection of fig. 2 Collection of the Yunnan Provincial Museum
National Palace Museum, Taipei எՀ 㫡ࢶ⏥ࢷ⁒㱦⻦৅
எӬ ᙲ⊏ᣖӬ⯠⻦卿→ἃஇ⛁ᘢ༈ࢷ⁒㩴⻦৅

2710 Continued

Buddhist bronze images from the Dali Kingdom (AD 937–1253), an independent state ૯ώ४䢮ՌԬ ⦰ ໝ䢯䢲⁳ᣣᤧ೰ᑬካᐂ䢲ໝ͞
in southwestern China that was coeval with China’s Song dynasty (AD 907–1279) and ⧀೏͞䢮ՌԬ ⦰ ໝ䢯⇂⩮䢲ḛॱ⧀͎Ψᑞˮ४
more or less congruent with present-day Yunnan province, are very rare. It was not until ⾾ڙⅲ㣄ڙ⇈૯⦱ܿܐǐ૯ώζӏᕴϜ㯶᳦́≹䢲↿⦰⟞४
the American scholar Helen Burwell Chapin (1892-1950) who published in 1944 a scroll ೀ⡅ڗᩄі 䢮)FMFO #VSXFMM $IBQJO䢯ᑞ ໝ֨ḛˏ
painting known as the Long Scroll of Buddhist Images, by the late 12th century Yunnanese ູ⁳૯ώ₝ສ཯كᬳ䢮᨞㌑ᑞ ě 䢯η₝ⅲǗ૯ώ
artist, Zhang Shengwen, that Buddhist images in Western collections were identified as ४ዟ๼཯كᬳ₝᚜ӏǘ䢲㟚୥ཛ㈯ೀ⻒ۢ㞙ⳉ₇㠛᧚ǐՒྯ
of Yunnan origin. Interest in Yunnanese bronzes intensified again when restoration work ᑞ ໝ͞䢲㣄ڙ૯ώෙ⡾ണڋഭ੕֨ॸ૯㕷૯ώ४ζᐓ
which took place in the late 1970’s at the Qianxun Pagoda, Yunnan province, yielded a
reliquary deposit from its roof. Among the finds are similar examples in bronze, gold and ᐷḵ䢲ᕇㅵ೾ˠ́യ૯ώζᐓ㐤ӏⅲほㄦǐ
gilt-silver, illustrated by Zhang Yongkang, A Research on the Sculptures of Da-Li Buddha, ⩮をˮ४ຠⅴ͠૰ಠ㌪Ͱ⡊⦪൓᢫⚗䢲૯ώⅴೣם͠⿭㦈໭
Taipei, 2002, passim.
ㄼ͠ྖ㧩⚗ᦱܐ᧊သ䢲ᐅ૯ώ἖ᕧᕍ㞍㐤૯ᇟ⿭㦈㐤ӏǐᕴ
While the Chinese emperor based his legitimacy on the Mandate of Heaven, the Yunnan ബ܃ᆾቈᜋᘍᗋ䢲๽ᆾቈⳜ↡䢲ᒶ⿭㦈˕ډ˕٪㌪ˮⅲᜋᘍ
monarchs grounded theirs on the will of Avalokitesvara. The present figure, depicted ⿭㦈ྋㅿ䢲ഄჍ᳦⇸⁥ᩕ㡙⃜ၶǐᕴ⿭㦈㌪ᣣ㦞ᵁ䢲᣻ϡѰ
holding an alms bowl in the left hand and a stalk of willow in the right, represents 㟌䢲㤚⇂ỵՓˏᙂ䢲㧀㨫㦗१䢲⡩ 㟌঺⦰⢵䢲Ц൲૯ώ㢯
Bhaisajyaraja Avalokitesvara, or Willow Guanyin in Chinese, a manifestation of ӏⅲṁ⨓ǐ㐝̮ṁ࿋˙ӆ⧀ˮ४೏͞ⅲ㢯ӏ㏶ᵁᕖ׆䢲ᕇ⧀
Avalokitesvara who blesses devotees with good health and cures them of diseases. ڪ༂ݸᖥڙ̯ηި೺ֲ⇂㠛ǐ
This figure’s slender body, elongated proportions, and distinctive facial features are typical of
ᑕ⁲ᚹˏὊⳉˏͬ㛵㕹㘌ঙӏ䢲ܔូᆾቈᜋᘍۢⳜ↡䢲ᴰゲ
Dali Kingdom sculptures. Those features not only distinguish such images from sculptures
㧰ᙂǏ㤚ೲǏ⻞㨫⓼䢲㓅⧀ᕴബ㤖ັ⇂Κ䢲ᑞ ໝ४⒤
produced in Song dynasty China but closely link them to sculptures created in India and
ᐅ೫ښḵ㡗Ǘ㕹㘌ζ㐤ӏṁൢǘൢ⿪ᓁ䢲㡗ᑜ೛ໝ̩͞䢮⿉
Southeast Asia. A very similar seated figure from the Nitta Collection, also holding a willow
and alms bowl, wearing similar ornaments, was included in the exhibition The Crucible of ॱ㙼ॱḛ ⴽ䢯䢮ॱˏ䢯䣁΢ྯᕩᑞ ໝ४⒤ᐅ೫ښ
Compassion and Wisdom: the Nitta Group Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, ḵ㡗Ǘᢶ͞㕹㘌ζ㐤ӏቈൢǘˮ䢲㡗ᑜຄᕇ᏾᳦૯ώ४ډ̣
catalogue. no. 92, where it was dated as Five Dynasties (fig. 1). The same piece was later ˠ☸䢮⿉ॱ㙼ॱḛ ⴽ䢯ǐ۷૥૯ώෙ⡾ണ˹੕֨ॸˏͬ
included in A Special Exhibition of Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, National 㘇ㇲᜋᘍ⿭㦈ঙӏ䢲㐤াܔូ⧀ᕴബ⇂Κ䢲Ⴅോഢ㍨റ䢮
Palace Museum, Taipei, 1996, catalogue. no. 17, where it was reattributed to the 12th century Ռֱ䢯䢲ήⳉ㣄ڙ⇈ښḵ㩉䢲⮏㙼ᑞᖍᒕ⢏⛷䢲Ǘڙぐ૯ώ
Dali Kingdom. Another figure of very similar posture and design, but of much smaller size (8 ४㢯ח❡₝Ⳕ⻒ǘ䢲ᒕᒝ䢲 ໝ䢲ॱ 䢮ॱ̣䢯ǐ
cm.) and made of silver, was excavated from the pagoda of Chongsheng Temple in Yunnan,
currently in the Yunnan Provincial Museum Collection, illustrated in Li Kunsheng, The ̷ۿ۞⡃⟞४ᢜ㣄͹ԢὊⳉˏͬ㛵㕹㘌㠾ฦ⡬⿭㦈⒤ӏ䢲ܔ
Complete Works of Yunnan National Fine Arts: The Sculpture and Painting Arts of Nanzhao ូ೛ໝ૯ώ४ډ̣ˠ☸䢲 ໝ ᕕ ᑽᑞ♈☼ωૈྴ
and Dali Kingdoms, Kunming, 1999, no. 259 (fig. 2). ሠ㇫䢲ሠި ⴽǐ
Compare to a gilt-bronze standing figure of Acuoye Guanyin, dating to Dali Kingdom, 12th
century, from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 20
March 2019, lot 813.

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