Page 70 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

Fig. 1 Limestone Stele with the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara Fig. 2 Detail of the reverse side of fg. 1 showing bodhisattvas
(Guanyin) and Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizi), Tang dynasty, mid-late Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) and Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizi)
7th century. Rogers Fund, 1930. The Metropolitan Museum of Art fanking the Buddha Amitabha.
Collection.
to know which of these two sculptures originally stood to the right, and which three are featured together in triad form 三尊. Thus, Bodhisattvas Guanyin
to the left, of the central image. The altar group might have included additional and Dashizhi generally appear on either side of the Buddha Amitabha, while
fgures, hierarchically scaled and symmetrically arranged. A monk or disciple Bodhisattvas Manjushri 文殊菩薩, the Bodhisattva of Transcendental Wisdom,
might have been tucked between the Buddha and each bodhisattva, for and Samantabhadra 普賢菩薩—Wenshu and Puxian in Chinese—typically fank
example, just as a guardian fgure might have appeared at each outer edge of the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni. In like manner Bodhisattvas Suryaprabha
the assemblage. Akin to angels, celestial fgures termed apsaras 飛天 possibly 日光菩薩 and Candraprabha 月光菩薩—Riguang and Yueguang in Chinese—
hovered above, venerating the Buddha, playing musical instruments, or making stand to the left and right of the Medicine Buddha 藥師佛.
oferings of alms or fowers.
Named bodhisattvas characteristically possess an identifying iconographic
Dated by inscription to 566, a small stone triad from the Northern Zhou period attribute. A spiritual emanation of the Buddha Amitabha, Guanyin is identifed
北周時代 (557–581) and exhibited in 2017 by J.J. Lally & Co., New York, shows by the small image of Amitabha that appears at the front of the bodhisattva’s
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how a grouping of three fgures might originally have been arranged, as does crown or coifure. As symbolic attribute, Dashizhi claims either a jar or a long-
a late seventh- or early eighth-century gilt bronze triad in the collection of necked bottle, the vessel appearing at the front of the topknot or crown. Both
the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (F1914.21), and as do three early Guanyin and Dashizhi may hold a lotus bud or blossom; if so, Guanyin usually
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eighth-century stone relief carvings formerly in the collection of the Japanese holds it in the left hand, the fower typically appearing at the left shoulder,
art dealer Hayasaki Kōichi 早崎孝一 (1874–1956), each of which depicts a while Dashizhi holds it in the right hand. The small stupa 偷婆 or pagoda 塔
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triad with Guanyin and Dashizhi standing on either side of a Buddha. (Fig. 3) that appears at the front of his chignon or headdress identifes the Bodhisattva
A Sui-dynasty 隋朝 (581–618) bronze altarpiece in the Museum of Fine Arts, Maitreya (Mile); the symbol emblemizes the repository in which the Buddha
Boston (22.407), reveals how the fgures might have been composed if the Shakyamuni’s relics were interred, thus frmly associating Maitreya with
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group included more than three fgures, as does a Sui or early Tang, gilt bronze Shakyamuni and identifying him as the Buddha of the Future who will succeed
altarpiece in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (B60 B8+). 9 Shakyamuni as the next earthly Buddha. As the bodhisattva of transcendental
wisdom, Manjushri (Wenshu) possesses a book, sometimes held in his hands
Buddhist scriptures speak of countless bodhisattvas, a few of whom are named but often shown resting on a lotus blossom at the fgure’s left shoulder; he
and coupled with specifc virtues. Best known and most frequently worshiped sometimes also holds a sword with which to combat evil. As the “Sunlight”
is the Bodhisattva Guanyin who is revered as the Bodhisattva of Compassion. and “Moonlight” bodhisattvas, Suryaprabha and Candraprabha (Riguang and
Likely the second most worshiped bodhisattva is Maitreya, or Mile Pusa 彌勒菩 Yueguang) sport a sun disc and a crescent moon, respectively, in their coifures
薩 in Chinese, the Buddha of the Future, who is shown both as a bodhisattva, as iconographic emblems.
when residing in the Tushita Heaven 兜率天, where all bodhisattvas currently
reside, and also as a Buddha, when preaching in his Ketumati Paradise (雞頭 Though typically depicted with one head, two arms, and two legs, bodhisattvas,
摩 or 翅頭末), after having descended to earth from the Tushita Heaven and as described in the scriptures, sometimes have variant forms with multiple heads
achieved Buddhahood. and numerous limbs. One variant form of Guanyin has eleven heads 十一面觀音
菩薩, for example while another, possesses 500 heads, 1,000 hands, and 1,000
Although they may be presented individually, bodhisattvas generally are eyes 千手千眼觀音. A deity’s multiple heads and limbs indicate that the deity has
presented in pairs and associated with particular Buddhas, in which case the the ability to assist more beings than can a deity with but one head, two arms
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