宋 鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像

well-cast and portrayed seated in vajraparyankasana, the right hand lowered in varada mudra, while the left held in abhaya mudra, each hand marked with a half-shuttered eye, the serene face bearing a compassionate expression with eyes in a downward gaze, the forehead marked with a third eye, his slightly pursed lips framed by a scrolling mustache and beard, the hair neatly drawn up in an intricate jatamakuta securing three miniature effigies of bodhisattvas, with long tresses falling to the shoulders, wearing elaborate jewellery including hair ornaments with billowing sashes and dragon heads, circular studded earrings, beaded necklaces, armbands, bracelets and anklets, a shawl detailed with lotus scrolls around the bare shoulders flowing over the arms, a voluminous lower garment similarly incised with a couple of dragons interspersed within the design, and gathered at the waist and fastened by a beaded girdle

The overall condition is very good. The figure on the top of the head is missing, however everything else is intact. There is slight wear to the gilding on the left arm, but overall the gilding is in very good condition. The ribbons and other accessories are in intact. The black pigment in the hair is also in very good condition. The underside is hollow.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

神妙玄奧
康蕊君

此鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像面相端雅，風格造型獨特，據錄，相近造像僅見舊金山亞洲藝術博物館布倫德基（Avery Brundage）舊藏例，誠屬稀珍。本尊佛容靜謐莊嚴，鑄造工藝超凡，無疑乃鎏金銅造像精品，然造型有別於一般鎏金佛像，要斷定其時代背境、為衪在中國古代青銅佛教塑像史中準確定位，殊非易事。

漢朝以後，群雄鼎立共分天下。時佛教初傳入中土，受各國朝廷尊崇，已始興鎏金銅像等佛教藝作。然至唐一朝，造像仍相對較小巧，及至遼代，契丹入主中原，較大型的佛教造像才逐漸出現，與此同時，風格漸趨簡約（如編號82）。然觀本尊，論其宏偉碩大，實可與較廉價之木雕塑像媲美，遼代鎏金銅像卻相形稍遜。明永樂時，朝廷大興工藝事業，監督如瓷、漆、銅作等，時鎏金佛像風格別開生面，技藝登峰造極，成就空前，為後朝奠定佛像經典。

然本尊又與明初風格大相逕庭，匠人彷彿平生從未見過永樂佛像，創作遂不受其限。唐至明之間，天下四分五裂，五代、遼、宋、金、西夏、元，一時諸雄各據一方，一時政權更迭不斷，無論宗教造像或是日常用器，工藝亦隨之受多元文化影響，風格多樣，百花齊放。

本尊就如茫茫滄海上的燈塔，撲朔迷離。佛容慈祥溫婉，卻又蓄捲曲鬍鬚，既富陽剛特徵卻又不失陰柔，想必當時女相觀音尚未普及。蓄鬚男相觀音，又與唐朝甘肅敦煌所出壁畫、幢幡或其他織品上的觀音菩薩像有共通之處。

此鎏金坐像藍圖或無異於壁畫草稿，後者有罕例傳世，見敦煌發現之白描菩薩頭像，其臉相與本尊相近，同蓄鬍鬚，眉若彎月，雙唇豐厚，頸現橫皺，滿戴珠寶華帶。背面原乃早期道教手稿，現存放巴黎法國國家圖書館，曾展於《筆墨乾坤：中國歷代圖書展覽目錄》，法國國家圖書館，巴黎，2004年，編號36a，書中 Nathalie Monnet 擬定之為晚唐或五代十世紀之物（圖一）。

與該草圖相類之敦煌佛教畫像，始現於晚唐，續見於五代，至北宋九至十世紀仍有繪製，相近觀音畫像刊錄於 Jacques Giès，《Les arts de l’Asie central. La collection Paul Pelliot du musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet》，巴黎，1996年，卷1，圖版52-72，以及卷II，圖版11-35。

有一類繪多面觀音菩薩畫像，容貎與此尊相類，常作一臉三目相，兩掌心又各具一目，戴珠寶華飾，相信製於十世紀，即五代至北宋初年，同上註，卷1，圖版86、89-93，及卷II，圖版64及65（圖二及三）。

紐約大都會藝術博物館藏一木雕菩薩立像，風格與本尊相似，年代約為十至十一世紀（碳測年為970-1120），或出自甘肅敦煌，圖見 Denise Patry Leidy 及 Lawrence Becker，《Wisdom Embodied. Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art》，紐約，2010年，編號A38。

就風格而言，此像臉容輪廓、身形比例，皆與四川安岳華嚴洞石窟北宋觀音雕像有相類之處，參閱《中國美術全集．雕塑編12．四川石窟雕塑》，北京，1988年，圖版128及130。

前述舊金山亞洲藝術博物館藏一極為相近之鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像，惟缺冠上寶飾飄帶，圖刊於 René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé 編，《Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection》，三藩市，1974年，圖版159（圖四）。

初看或以為大小相仿之元代青白瓷塑像與本尊關連甚深，但瓷像容貎一般較婉柔，明顯以女相臨世，參考四尊青白觀音像，分別見於練松柏收藏、納爾遜藝術博物館、倫敦維多利亞與艾伯特博物館，以及紐約大都會藝術博物館，圖刊於畢宗陶（Stacey Pierson）編，《Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties》，倫敦，2002年，圖版119-22。

此尊菩薩罕有地身穿龍紋天衣，上飾螭龍形態與元朝以前紋樣相符，間接為其年代作佐證。試參考宋朝定窰器，上劃龍紋簡約，龍身柔軟靈巧，幾乎與捲雲融為一體，足上三爪，利趾卻未有張開，例可見《千禧年宋代文物大展》中定窰盤及洗，國立故宮博物院，台北，2000年，編號II-21及III-17（圖五）。