Page 22 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1010
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
KHASA MALLA, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16899
40 cm (15 3/4 in.) high

HKD8,000,000 - 12,000,000

卡薩馬拉王朝 約十三世紀 銅鎏金釋迦牟尼像

This important, large gilded Buddha depicts the sage with his right hand in
bhumisparsha mudra, touching the ground to beseech the Earth to bear witness
to his newly attained enlightenment. So rooted in meditation had he been (and
continued to be for 49 days thereafter) that the sculpture’s skilled caster has
modeled the Buddha’s toes in a relaxed, sunken, upturned curl pressed against
the inner thighs. A predilection in Nepal for depicting icons of worship as content,
well-nourished beings has instructed this buddha’s broad, powerful shoulders
and fleshy, hour-glass torso. The artist has taken the rather unique decision to
suggest the ribs as Buddha’s form-fitting robe slackens around his right side. The
detail gives more emphasis to Buddha’s raised chest, expanding with yogic breath
(prana). With a similar technique, the artist has taken further, distinctive pains to
demark Buddha’s ankles too. His sculpture affords Buddha a serene, assured
expression, coupling with a stillness in the left hand suspended just above the lap
that imbues the sage with a sense of empyrean authority.

The sculpture originates from the Khasa Malla kingdom, which ruled the Karnali
Basin of western Nepal and western Tibet between the 12th and 14th centuries.
The Khasa Malla kings were devout Buddhists, and also fierce warriors notorious
for their incursions at Bodh Gaya that are reflected in several inscriptions left at the
holy pilgrimage site. Despite the Khasa Malla kingdom being known to western
scholars from historical records by the mid-20th century, it was not until 1994
that the first artwork was securely attributed to it (Alsop, “The Metal Sculpture of
the Khasa Malla Kingdom” in Singer & Denwood (eds.), Tibetan Art, Towards a
Definition of Style, London, 1997, pp.68-79). Since then, a number of paintings
and sculptures have been attributed to the Khasa Mallas, whose enthusiastic
Buddhist patronage gave rise to a distinctive sculptural tradition of marked quality.

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