Page 36 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Tantra Buddhost Art

fig. 1
Mural of Buddha at Shalu Monastery, Central
Tibet
After: Michael Henss, The Cultural Monuments
of Tibet, Munich, 2014, Vol. II, p.614, pl. 888

圖一
西藏中部夏魯寺之佛像壁畫
出處：Michael Henss，《The Cultural Monuments of
Tibet》，慕尼黑，2014年，卷2，頁614，圖版888

This large and imposing Tibetan bronze depicts the historical 釋迦牟尼佛坐像，宏碩優美，靜穆莊嚴，右手結觸地印，召
Shakyamuni Buddha reaching forward with his right hand, 喚四方地神見證降魔成道。
calling the earth to witness his triumph over the assaults and
temptations of the demon Mara. 此像銅色古潤，佛面、頸泥金，髮髻加彩，對比強烈，反映
早期東印度風格與紐瓦爾風格之間的轉變，後者接續盛行二
The current work, executed in a richly patinated bronze 百多年。
and sharply contrasted by the application of cold gold and
polychromy to the face, neck and hair, demonstrates the 坐佛身形英挺飽滿，佛首比例幾與身軀同長，以佛面為視覺
stylistic transition between the early Eastern Indian sculptural 焦點。身披百衲袈裟，左肩交結，於交腳處聚結成褶，線條
traditions and that of the Newari aesthetic tradition so 流麗自然。
prevalent in the following two centuries.

The body of the Buddha projects a sense of grandeur and 泥金及彩料塗佛面（並或胸膛、手、足）屬西藏供養傳統，
vitality. The proportions of the figure are such that the head 供養人多捐贈金粉予當地寺院，用以供佛。如同此像，常得
is almost the same size as the torso, the effect of which 供拜之作，表面常可見多層泥金，乃代代恭供而來。
draws the eyes to the serene, painted face. The broad torso
is wrapped in a diaphanous, patchwork sanghati, the outer 此件釋迦牟尼佛坐像之眉眼風格，可比較西藏中部夏魯寺之
hem of which is draped in an unconventional fashion down the 佛像壁畫，見 Michael Henss，《The Cultural Monuments
proper left arm, and the lower hem which pools gracefully on of Tibet》，慕尼黑，2014年，卷2，頁614，圖版888（圖
the platform base between the knees. 一）。

The use of cold gold and polychromy for the head (and often
the chest, hands and feet) is a uniquely Tibetan convention.
In order to generate merit, patrons and devotees would
traditionally donate gold dust or powder to their local
monastery, for the lustration of the devotional sculptures,
such as in the current work. It is not uncommon for devotional
objects such as these to have several generations of lustrated
layers, and this practice continues today.

Compare the almond-shaped eyes and eyebrows of the
current work to a painted head of the Buddha in a mural at the
Yumchenmo sanctuary of Shalu Monastery in Central Tibet,
illustrated in Michael Henss, The Cultural Monuments of Tibet,
Munich, 2014, Vol. II, p.614, pl. 888 (fig. 1).

34 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比