佛像鉴定鉴赏收藏

尺寸：高15cm
年代：14世纪
质地：铜鎏金
风格：尼泊尔
来源：拍卖会
成交：2,002,500港元(2020.12)
参阅：香港邦瀚斯
鉴赏：
A GILT COPPER ALLOY ENSHRINED BUDDHA
NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
古比特佛像网, 编号: 释迦牟尼佛:释迦牟尼佛377
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16907
15 cm (5 7/8 in.) high
尼泊爾 十四世紀 銅鎏金佛陀像

This rare, complete miniature shrine depicts Shakyamuni with an alms bowl flanked by Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara, the Great Bodhisattvas of Wisdom and Compassion. The small vajra placed before Shakyamuni's ankles on top of the lotus base makes mnemonic reference to the enshrined 'vajra seat' (vajrasana) at Bodh Gaya in Northeastern Indian, upon which Buddha achieved enlightenment. Garuda is in full flight at the crest of the prabhamandala, flanked by animated nagas who ride on the exuberant swirling elements issued from the howling makaras. The thriving arrangement recalls the Earth flourishing in response to Shakyamuni's request to bear witness to his enlightenment. Within the pedestal supporting the lotus throne below, a pair of lions guard a generative triratna representing the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha (monastic community).

Buddha's robust and rounded form, as he is depicted in this shrine, follows the classic Newari aesthetic of the Kathmandu Valley in the 13th/14th century, which was also adopted by the neighboring Khasa Malla kingdom ruling the Karnali Basin of western Nepal and western Tibet. Buddha's throne back is decorated with a 'rice-grain' pattern that is not exclusive to, but frequently depicted in Khasa Malla bronzes. For example, compare a large enshrined Buddha with a Khasa Malla inscription in a private collection (Wang et. al. The Light of Buddha, Beijing, 2019, p.269, no.066). In the present sculpture, the rice-grain pattern also appears on the sides of the waisted pedestal, stippled like the floral medallions across its foot.

It is extremely rare to find Tibetan or Nepalese bronzes of Buddha (or any deity for that matter) with their original shrines, but there are a few, roughly contemporaneous examples with which to compare. A small 13th-century shrine of Uma-Mahesvara (18 cm) is in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston (von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.347, no.89F). A 14th-/15th-century Shadakshari Mahavidya (17 cm) formerly in the Heeramaneck Collection retains its prabhamandala (Kramrisch, The Art of Nepal, Vienna, 1964, p.136, no.42). And, a larger 14th-century Buddha, backed by a closely related prabhamandala, is in Shalu, Tibet (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.1, Hong Kong, p.962, no.231A), while another is photographed in front of a fragmented prabhamandala in the western Nepalese monastery of Yang-tsher (von Schroeder, op. cit., 1981, p.339).

Provenance
The Nyingjei Lam Collection, acquired in the 1980s
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2013-2018 (L2013.2.1)