Page 21 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

涅槃寂静 | THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NAYDA UTTERBERG (LOTs 1-20)

3
ANONYMOUS (JAPAN, 12TH CENTURY)
Iconographic Drawing of Vajrapani (Shukongojin)
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
37º x 18¿ in. (94.6 x 46 cm.)
$60,000-80,000
白描執金剛神図

PROVENANCE:
Todaiji Temple, Nara
S. Yabumoto Co. Ltd., Tokyo, 30 Oct. 2000
In this unusually large iconographic drawing, the wrathful tutelary
deity strikes a pose, standing firm against enemies of the faith, even
as his robes and scarves billow around him in the wind. He has
the bulging muscles of a superhero and his mouth is wide open,
as though emitting a fierce battle cry. In his right hand, Vajrapani
(“thunderbolt in hand,” in Sanskrit) holds his weapon, an enormous
vajra, or thunderbolt. His left hand grasps the right wrist to stabilize
it. The figure is reminiscent of the nearly contemporary Nio
sculptures guarding the entrance to Todaiji Temple in Nara.
The iconography and religious function of Vajrapani has changed
considerably over the centuries. In his earliest representations
from the ancient region of Gandhara, Vajrapani was depicted as a
muscular elderly figure holding a double-lozenge-form vajra; such
representations may have been influenced by Hellenistic depictions
of the Graeco-Roman deity, Zeus/Jupiter, who was shown in
similar form wielding a thunderbolt. In Tang-dynasty China, he
flanks the entrance to Buddhist temples, appearing, for example, in
the cave carvings of the Longmen Grottoes with the exaggerated
musculature typical of this Japanese representation.

Massive lokapala in the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang, China