佛像鉴定鉴赏收藏

尺寸：长132.1 宽88.9 cm
年代：明代
质地：唐卡(绣花丝绸, EMBROIDERED SILK)
风格：永乐宫廷
来源：拍卖会
成交：495,000美元(2018.03)
参阅：纽约苏富比
鉴赏：
来源
Rossi & Rossi，伦敦，2003年

展览
《Buddhist Art： Sculpture and Paintings from India， Nepal and Tibet》，Rossi & Rossi，伦敦，1999年，编号10

著录
古比特佛像网, 编号: 金刚萨埵:金刚萨埵110

本金刚萨埵唐卡华丽庄严，制工精湛，见证永乐帝致力护持藏传佛教，促使此时期藏传佛教艺术发展，大放异彩。本品以纤丝单线绣成，费工耗时，针法独特，成品明亮光丽，且保存极佳，品相绝好。整体主金色，辉华璀璨，崇高之象征，即代表无上君权，亦代表佛法之出离。此类御制唐卡，乃朝廷赏赐西藏宗教官员之御品。据《西藏史料》载，时朝廷曾御赐大量珍品予西藏喇嘛以及京城、西藏寺庙等。

本唐卡正中绣金刚萨埵与般若佛母双修像。藏传佛教新译派之萨迦传承及噶玛传承，对永乐朝影响深远，而此二派教义均奉金刚萨埵为本初佛。本初佛，诸佛之始，佛陀智慧之拟像，坦特罗密续总上师，头戴五宝天冠，代表五智如来。般若佛母，乃大乘佛教《般若波罗密多经》之化身，代表智慧圆满，大乘佛教中，诸佛皆以其为母。双修像，母为智慧，父为慈悯，二者双修结合，广受大乘教徒信奉，以此证悟空性。细观本品，金刚萨埵手指微弯，持金刚杵（象征破除愚痴妄想、摧灭烦恼之菩提心）及金刚铃（代表空性智慧）、佛母腰带锦饰珠串，两者互望，从诸般细节，反映感官觉受。

唐卡上下两端绣金刚萨埵百字明，大意如下：

嗡，主尊金刚萨埵！请恒常加持！

请将金刚萨埵之本质示现予我。

予我安定。

为我高兴。

使我增长。

请慈悲爱护我。

赐我圆满成就。

让我心善，功德殊胜。

吽！诃诃诃诃火！世尊！

一切如来金刚！莫舍弃我。

成就金刚萨埵之果位！为众生加持者！

阿吽帕。

观此金刚萨埵及佛母宝相，面圆额宽，宝冠华饰，披巾流丽，坐于华丽莲座之上，皆为永乐造像特征。而唐卡装裱风格，则与其时西藏画作相似。Michael Henss 述，此类早期刺绣、毡饰及织锦，介乎于不同传统艺术类区之间，原因有二：其即不属画作类，亦非一般织品；其技法来源取自中土，题材构图则源自西藏。（参考〈The Woven Image： Tibeto-Chinese Textile Thangkas of the Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties〉，《Orientations》，1997年11月，页26）

本品虽无近例记载，个别元素风格相近者，可见于同期唐卡。参考两例，莲华手菩萨像，莲座相近，外围饰大象、狮鹫、灵狮、摩竭与飞天组成之曼陀罗，上饰迦楼罗，展于《锦绣罗衣巧天工》，香港艺术馆，1995年，编号28及30。另有两例，大型刺绣，边饰金刚杵与三宝，载于 Michael Henss，前述出处，图9及10，作者提及，此类纹饰鲜见于1400年前之织品（页30）。

AN EMBROIDERED SILK THANGKA DEPICTING VAJRASATTVA AND PRAJNAPARAMITA MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD
finely embroidered in silk and gold thread on a rich silk background, the bodhisattva Vajrasattva in ecstatic union with the female consort Prajnaparamita, both wearing the regal jewels and accoutrements of the bodhisattva, Vajrasattva holding an upright vajra or scepter in the right hand and a ghanta or bell in the left hand, seated at center on a square platform atop a tiered and richly embellished double-lotus throne, the throne face adorned with a pair of addorsed vyalaka or leogryphs and covered in a textile festooned with golden garlands, the deities within a golden prabha or halo with luxuriant foliate motif, the upper quadrants of the thangka depicting two unidentified figures and further surmounted by Garuda and celestial beings at upper center, with a further menagerie of addorsed fantastic beasts on either side of the divine couple including makara spouting jeweled garlands, vyala, snow lions and elephants all atop small lotus thrones within a field of rolling clouds and rocky escarpments, the upper and lower trapezoidal mounts embroidered with a vajra and triple gem border motif, further embellished with ten rows of red lotus buds with interconnected scrolling stems, each bud inscribed with a contiguous syllable of the one-hundred-syllable Vajrasattva mantra of supplication in Sanskritized Tibetan script heightened in gold
52 by 35 in., 132.1 by 88.9 cm

品相报告:
Colors of silk embroidery faded throughout. Areas of loss throughout. Relined with modern blue borders on either side. Silk embroidered fishtail borders on top and bottom. Colors faded. Vajra and jewel borders top and bottom abraded. A hole to the left of the upper boarder, backed with modern blue silk. Loss to the lower mount on the lower right side.

Provenance
Rossi & Rossi, London, 2003

Literature
Michael Henss, 'The Woven Image: Tibeto-Chinese Textile Thangkas of the Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties’, Orientations, vol. 28, no. 10, 1997, p. 29, fig. 5.
Buddhist Art: Sculpture and Paintings from India, Nepal and Tibet, Rossi & Rossi, London, 1999, pl. 10, pps 22-3.

Catalogue Note
This sumptuous thangka illustrates the Yongle Emperor’s (r. 1403-1424) devoted patronage of Tibetan Buddhism and the extraordinary ritual objects that were produced as a result. It is remarkably well-preserved, retaining the brilliant surface which has been created using a special and particularly laborious satin stitch technique with silk floss (single thread). An imperial quality is created through the extravagant use of yellow, a color that possesses the highest symbolic quality as it signifies both the emperor, and renunciation and humility. Thangkas of this type were produced and presented by the imperial court as gifts for Tibetan religious officials. Official accounts, in particular the court record of daily events, Xizang shiliao, document numerous imperial gifts to Tibetan lamas, and to their temples and monasteries in the Chinese capital and Tibet.

The central scene depicts Vajradhara in the posture of yabyum (‘father-mother’) with his consort, Prajnaparamita. According to the Sakya order and Karma orders of the New (Sarma) School of Tibetan Buddhism, which had significant influence in the court of the Yongle Emperor, Vajradhara is the Primordial Enlightened Being (Adi Buddha), the embodiment of all Buddhist wisdom and the teacher of all tantras. He wears a five-pronged crown, which symbolizes the Five Dhyani Buddhas. An anthropomorphic representation of the Mahayana text of the same name, Prajnaparamita represents supreme wisdom and according to the Mahayana school, the Mother of all the Buddhas. Thus their pose embodies the union of wisdom (female) and compassion (male) that is believed by many Mahayana Buddhists to be necessary for enlightenment. The sensuality of these figures extends to the smallest details, as evidenced in Vajradhara’s delicately curved fingers that clutch a vajra (thunderbolt scepter denoting clarity of mind) and a ghanta (prayer bell associated with wisdom), the delicate rows of beads of Prajnaparamita’s girdle and the intimate gaze locked between the two figures.

The 100-syllable mantra of Vajradhara on the borders, each lotus flower containing a syllable, can be translated as follows:

Oṃ Vajrasattva! Preserve the bond!

As Vajrasattva stand before me.

Be firm for me.

Be greatly pleased for me.

Deeply nourish me.

Love me passionately.

Grant me siddhi in all things,

And in all actions make my mind most excellent.

Huṃ! Ha ha ha ha ho! Blessed One!

Vajra of all the Tathagatas! Do not abandon me.

Be the vajra-bearer, Being of the Great Bond!

Aḥ huṃ phaṭ

Characteristic of the Yongle period is the physiognomy of the figures, with their round faces and broad forehead, along with the richness of the diadem and jewels, the flamboyant flowing scarf and the ornate lotus-petal throne. The format of this embroidery, however, with the flared fabric mounts, closely resembles Tibetan paintings of the period. According to Michael Henss, these early ‘pictorial embroideries, tapestries, and brocades fall in between established art historical domains in two ways: they cannot be classified as paintings, nor are they textiles in the usual sense; Chinese by technique and origin, but Tibetan by subject and composition (see ‘The Woven Image: Tibeto-Chinese Textile Thangkas of the Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties’, Orientations, November 1997, p. 26).

Although no closely related examples appear to have been published, elements of the iconography represented in a similar style can be seen on other thangkas attributed to the same period; see two examples depicting Padmapani, seated on a similar lotus petal throne and stepped pedestal and enclosed within a comparable mandorla comprised of elephants, griffins, lions, makharas, asparas and surmounted by a garuda, included in the exhibition Heaven’s Embroidered Cloths. One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. nos 28 and 30. Compare also two massive silk-embroideries that also feature a vajra and triratna (‘three jewels’) border, published in Michael Henss, op. cit., figs 9 and 10, where the author notes that this motif is rarely seen on textiles before 1400 (p. 30).