A rare marble torso of a seated Buddha, Liao dynasty | 遼 大理石雕蓮座佛身像

Acquired in Hong Kong in 1986.

Artist Magazine, Taipei, April 1995, p. 221.

The Liao dynasty (907–1125 CE), founded by the Khitan people, ruled regions in Northeast and North China. Due to the emperors' devotion to Buddhism, Buddhist art flourished during this period. The Khitan people were known for their tall and robust physiques, a characteristic reflected in Liao sculptures, particularly in the broad shoulders and prominent chests, lending figures from this period a distinctive style. Apart from the present torso, the lotus pedestal is also notable in that it is depicted as an upturned lotus bloom with full petals slightly curling at the tips and arranged in overlapping layers.

The Shakyamuni Pagoda of the Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, was built during the Liao dynasty and is the oldest surviving wooden pagoda in China. According to Ming dynasty local records, the Yingxian wooden pagoda was named ‘Shakyamuni Pagoda’ by Emperor Daozong of Liao (r. 1055–1101), indicating its deep imperial connections. The sculptures and murals in the Shakyamuni Pagoda strongly reflect the stylistic features of the Liao dynasty, and the main figure of Vairocana Buddha on the fourth level of the pagoda is particularly similar to the present piece.

Surviving Liao sculptures are predominantly made of bronze, wood, or clay, and large stone examples such as the current piece are exceptionally rare. Compare a very similar stone figure Buddha seated on a lotus pedestal, measuring 217.5 cm in height, from the Nantang Temple in Datong City, Shanxi Province, now housed in the Datong Museum and illustrated in Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, Shanxi Precious Cultural Relics Archives, Vol. 13: Datong Volume, Beijing, 2019, p. 143. Another comparable marble figure of a seated Buddha, though portrayed with the hands held in dhyana mudra, is depicted with a similar drapery, now preserved in the Zhuozhou Museum, Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province. See also a comparable gilt-bronze Liao dynasty seated example of Amitabha Buddha, measuring 26 cm in height, in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, no. 46-84, and illustrated in Treasures Overseas: Buddhist Statues, Palace Museum, Taipei, pl. 143, p. 154.

來源

得於香港，1986年

出版

《藝術家雜誌》，台北，1995年4月，頁221

此尊佛身像以白大理石造，佛於仰蓮台座上結跏趺坐，肌體豐碩，姿態端莊。左手平放腹前，掌心向上，右臂屈舉及胸，所失右手或施無畏印。佛身內著僧祇支，圓領袒胸，結帶束腹；外著通肩袈裟，右襟末端敷搭左肩，挂於後背；裳裙掩腿，唯露一足，襬邊褶紋如葉，自右踝垂瀉而下，分向兩側鋪於台面，宛如漣漪。佛衣整肅，尤顯佛身威儀。

遼朝（907-1125年）疆域集中於東北、華北一帶，由契丹人建立，因帝王崇佛，佛教藝術多有發展。契丹人體格偉岸，遼朝造像亦雙肩寬闊、胸肌挺拔，頗具地域特色。除佛身之外，蓮台亦見獨特風貌：多作仰蓮式，蓮瓣肥碩飽滿，瓣尖微翹，狀若蓮花盛放；蓮瓣層曡錯落，繞台座一周均匀排佈，皆舒展自如。

山西省應縣佛宮寺釋迦塔建於遼代，為中國現存最早木塔，塔中造像、壁畫遼代風格鮮明，宜作參考。以木塔第四層主尊毘盧遮那佛爲例，比對佛衣穿曡、兩手方位、仰蓮台座等，此尊均可謂如出一轍。據明代地方志記載，應縣木塔由遼道宗耶律洪基（1055-1101年在位）賜名「釋迦塔」，可知該塔皇家淵源深厚，此尊制式與塔中造像所用一致，當屬遼代正統。

存世遼代造像多為銅、木及泥塑，石雕者甚罕，體量碩大如斯者尤難能可貴。比石雕佛坐像一尊，高217.5公分，袒胸端坐、僧衣結帶、蓮台樣式無一不與此尊相類，源自山西省大同市南堂寺，現藏大同市博物館，錄山西省文物局編，《山西珍貴文物檔案 13 大同卷》，北京，2019，頁143。再比大理石雕佛坐像一尊，手印不同，結禪定印，然衣紋佈局與此尊頗似，藏涿州博物館，河北省涿州市。除石雕造像，亦可比遼代鎏金銅阿彌陀佛坐像一尊，通高26 公分，身姿、衣紋、蓮台亦同此制，藏納爾遜-阿特金斯藝術博物館，堪薩斯城，藏品編號46-84，錄台北故宮博物院編，《海外遺珍：佛像》，台北，圖版143，頁154。