Page 12 - Liesurely Life Fine Objects Christies Hong Kong May 2018

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
2903
A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE GILT-BRONZE 唐 鎏金銅佛手
HAND OF A BUDDHA
TANG DYNASTY (618-907) 來源
The hand is realistically modelled in abhayamudra, the five fingers 1995年購於香港
gently curved, the nails and joints finely detailed. The back of the 此佛手尺寸與真人大小相若，顯示本屬一尊碩大的銅佛像。手施無畏
hand has an irregularly-shaped aperture for attachment. 印，五指向前微曲，肌肉飽滿，關節及指甲等部位均寫實呈現，符合人
7 √ in. (20 cm.) high, box 體比例，極具藝術性。盛唐佛教雕塑重視寫實，比較敦煌莫高窟第328
HK$800,000-1,200,000 US$110,000-150,000 號洞一尊彩繪佛像，同樣施無畏印，手的姿態及豐腴造型，與本手相
類，見《Arts of China: Buddhist Cave Temples - New Researches》，
PROVENANCE 講談社，1978年（第三版），圖版52號。另可參考一件石灰石佛手，
Acquired in Hong Kong in 1995 應源自龍門石窟，1930年由盧芹齋捐贈予紐約大都會博物館（圖一），
見《中國古代石雕藝術》，台北，1983年，圖版21號。
The remarkable size of this hand suggests that it would have come
from a Buddha figure of majestic size. The realistic modelling, which
is rendered with extraordinary anatomical accuracy, is a testament
to the superb bronze casting technique during the Tang dynasty.
Characterised by fleshy fingers, finely grooved joints and broad finger
nails, such naturalistic rendition can be found on contemporary
Buddhist sculptures of various media, such as a limestone hand
attributed to the Longmen Caves, donated by C.T. Loo to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (fig. 1), illustrated in Chinese
Buddhist Sculpture from the Wei Through the T’ang Dynasties, Taipei,
1983, no. 21. Compare also to a stone seated Buddha found in the rear
alcove of Cave 328 in Dunhuang, his hand similarly sculpted in abhaya-
mudra, illustrated in Arts of China: Buddhist Cave Temples – New
Researches, Kodansha International, 1978 (3rd ed.), pl. 52.

fig. 1 Gift of C. T. Loo, 1930
Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
圖一 1930 年盧芹齋贈予大都會博物館

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