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尺寸：高40cm
年代：13-14世纪
质地：铜鎏金
风格：尼泊尔 迦舍末罗 (Khasa Malla Kingdom)
来源：拍卖会
成交：9,732,500港元(2020.12)
参阅：香港邦瀚斯
鉴赏：
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
KHASA MALLA, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY
古比特佛像网, 编号: 释迦牟尼佛:释迦牟尼佛376
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16899
40 cm (15 3/4 in.) high
卡薩馬拉王朝 約十三世紀 銅鎏金釋迦牟尼像

This important, large gilded Buddha depicts the sage with his right hand in bhumisparsha mudra, touching the ground to beseech the Earth to bear witness to his newly attained enlightenment. So rooted in meditation had he been (and continued to be for 49 days thereafter) that the sculpture's skilled caster has modeled the Buddha's toes in a relaxed, sunken, upturned curl pressed against the inner thighs. A predilection in Nepal for depicting icons of worship as content, well-nourished beings has instructed this buddha's broad, powerful shoulders and fleshy, hour-glass torso. The artist has taken the rather unique decision to suggest the ribs as Buddha's form-fitting robe slackens around his right side. The detail gives more emphasis to Buddha's raised chest, expanding with yogic breath (prana). With a similar technique, the artist has taken further, distinctive pains to demark Buddha's ankles too. His sculpture affords Buddha a serene, assured expression, coupling with a stillness in the left hand suspended just above the lap that imbues the sage with a sense of empyrean authority.

The sculpture originates from the Khasa Malla kingdom, which ruled the Karnali Basin of western Nepal and western Tibet between the 12th and 14th centuries. The Khasa Malla kings were devout Buddhists, and also fierce warriors notorious for their incursions at Bodh Gaya that are reflected in several inscriptions left at the holy pilgrimage site. Despite the Khasa Malla kingdom being known to western scholars from historical records by the mid-20th century, it was not until 1994 that the first artwork was securely attributed to it (Alsop, “The Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Malla Kingdom” in Singer & Denwood (eds.), Tibetan Art, Towards a Definition of Style, London, 1997, pp.68-79). Since then, a number of paintings and sculptures have been attributed to the Khasa Mallas, whose enthusiastic Buddhist patronage gave rise to a distinctive sculptural tradition of marked quality.

The art of the Khasa Mallas took inspiration from its neighboring cultures, incorporating stylistic elements from the Kathmandu Valley, West Tibet, and Pala India. As the Khasa Mallas had close contact with the Newars of Kathmandu, influences from the Valley frequently prevail. For example, the present figure's sensuous modeling and broad countenance are classic Newari features.

There are a handful of corresponding Khasa Malla buddhas of this scale with which to compare. One held by the Rubin Museum of Art shares some core features of the Khasa Malla style, such as the common 'rice-grain' pattern in the robe hems and the detailing of Buddha's knuckles (Vajracharya, Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual, New York, 2016, pp.71-3, no.17). Moreover, two shared elements, which are thought to depart from classic Nepalese sculpture, are the manner in which the eyebrows do not meet in the center, but terminate just before the nose, and the left hand being suspended above the lap, rather than resting in it (ibid.). Another large Khasa Malla buddha was sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3019.

Two idioms commonly attributed to the Khasa Mallas that the Rubin buddha has which the present example does not are integrated earrings cast with the earlobes and a pronounced contour where the shoulder meets the tricep. However, these features are also absent on an Enshrined Buddha held in a private Chinese collection, which is probably the most important in the category because it bears a Khasa Malla inscription (Xiong (ed.), From the West to the East, Beijing, 2016, p.88-93). Another detail in which the present sculpture and the Enshrined Buddha differ from the Rubin example, is the manner in which the robe terminates before Buddha's ankles. A fanning splay of ruffled edges is represented almost ubiquitously throughout the Himalayas during this period, yet added to this are a couple of layered folds that rest on top, partially eclipsing the fan slightly more on the right side because the right leg is higher, resting on the left. This small, but refined detail is performed superlatively in the present sculpture.

Provenance
Guy Kaufmann (1923-2010), Paris, acquired in the 1970s
Jacques Barrere Collection, Paris