Page 311 - 2018 Hong Kong Important Chieese Art

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PROPERTY FROM A SWISS PRIVATE COLLECTION 十六至十七世紀或更早 帕拉復興風格銅合金不動明王像
A RARE FINELY CAST COPPER ALLOY
FIGURE OF ACHALA
PALA REVIVAL, 16TH–17TH CENTURY OR
EARLIER

the wrathful figure depicted kneeling on one knee atop a raised
double lotus pedestal, the right arm raised holding a sword
above his head and his left hand held at the chest clutching
the ends of a pasha noose, clad in a dhoti with his bare chest
adorned with snakes and beaded necklaces draped over by a
celestial scarf, the intense three-eyed face flanked by a pair of
pendulous earrings, with hair gathered into a tall chignon
16 cm, 6¼ in.
HK$ 300,000-400,000
US$ 38,300-51,000

This finely cast copper alloy figure depicts Achala, the wrathful
manifestation of Manjushri, whose role it is to eliminate
obstacles in the mind of a practitioner and to protect the mind
from negative forces.
For a Pala prototype of Achala in the collection of the Potala
Palace, see Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in
Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. I, pp. 292-293, cat. no. 97D-E. A
larger Tibetan bronze figure of Achala, dated to the 13th/14th
century, from the Nyingjei Lam collection, illustrated in David
Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of
Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London,
1999, pl. 17, was sold in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot
3104.
The quality of the casting and naturalism of expression on
the Acala is reminiscent of that on a Tibetan gold and silver
inlaid figure of Manjushri from the Sporer collection, sold
at Christie’s Hong Kong, 15th September 2015, lot 40. Pala
period Buddhist sculptures were also popular in the early Qing
dynasty, and a number is preserved in the holdings of the
Palace Museum, Beijing, including a seated figure of Green
Tara, illustrated in Buddhist Statues of Tibet. The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong,
2008, p. 42, pl. 41.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 309