Page 109 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings

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A MAGNIFICENT AND POWERFULLY 清十八世紀 鎏金銅大威德金剛像
CAST LARGE GILT-BRONZE ‘YAMANTAKA
VAJRABHAIRAVA AND VAJRAVETALI’ GROUP 來源：
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY 1994年12月19日購於加州
the yidam and consort depicted in ecstatic union and standing
in alidhasana on trampled figures atop a lotus base, the thirty-
four-armed yidam portrayed with a fierce buffalo head with
fiery tresses coiled into thick ropes, further rendered with
six fierce human faces around the back and surmounted by
another fierce human face and the head of Manjushri
38 cm, 14⅞ in.
PROVENANCE
Acquired in California, 19th December 1994.

HK$ 1,500,000-2,000,000
US$ 194,000-259,000

This magnificent, complex and powerfully modelled large
sculpture depicts Yamantaka Vajrabhairava, the wrathful
manifestation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Discriminating
Wisdom, together with his consort Vajravetali in ecstatic
union. The large and ferocious buffalo head of Vajrabhairava
with towering, fiery tresses coiled into thick ropes dominate
the sculpture and commands the focal point, as it is the same
size as the torso and legs. Six fierce human faces wrap around
the back of the buffalo head, and are surmounted by a further
fierce human face and the head of wrathful Manjushri.
Vajrabhairava, or Adamantine Anger, the destroyer of
ignorance and fear of death, is one of the principal yidams
of the Geluk sect, the Tibetan Buddhist order founded by
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) that was later favoured at the Qing
court. The Geluk sect enjoyed increased importance amongst
the emperors of the Ming dynasty. From the mid-17th century
on, The Geluk lineage were the dominant theocratic power
in Tibet through the Dalai Lama, and the sole represented
Tibetan Buddhist lineage within China.
Tsongkhapa, as well as the Manchu emperors, were
additionally considered manifestations of the bodhisattva
Manjushri, explaining in part the popularity of Vajrabhairava
within China. The Qing emperors maintained direct links with
the Dalai and Panchen Lamas and propagated the Geluk
lineage of Buddhism within China, sponsoring the construction
of numerous monasteries and temples around the capital
of Beijing. Vajrabhairava, the all-powerful manifestation of
Manjushri, was thereby symbolic of the ultimate imperial
authority. This awe-inspiring statue serves to enforce the
imperial mandate while representing the highest ideals of the
spiritual path to Buddhist enlightenment.
Another figure of smaller size, but similar iconography and
workmanship is illustrated by Hung Shih Chang and Jessica
P.P. Hsu, eds, Buddhist Art from Rehol: Tibetan Buddhist
images and ritual objects from the Qing dynasty Summer
Palace at Chengde, Taipei, 1999, p. 122, pl. 46. See also a
closely related gilt-bronze figure of Yamantaka and Vajravetali,
sold at Christie’s New York, 15th/16th March 2015, lot 3214,
and another sold more recently in these rooms, 3rd April 2018,
lot 3679.

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