A rare large gilt-copper standing figure of Buddha, Tibetan imperial period, circa 9th century | 約九世紀 藏傳鎏金銅佛立像

European Private Collection, acquired in London, 1997.

American Private Collection.

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歐洲私人收藏，1997年得自倫敦

美國私人收藏

This rare and early Tibetan figure of Buddha stands with a gentle sway of the hips, holding a fold of his robe in the left hand and his right arm raised, with the hand replaced. Snail-shell hair curls cover the tall cranial protuberance topped with a lotus and jewel setting. The figure and base are cast in one and parcel-gilt, with rich mercury gilding on the front and sides of the Buddha, leaving the back, the hair, and the lotus pedestal in the original, non-gilded copper.

The Buddha’s robe is incised with elegant textile patterns including roundels with pearl borders, one depicting a lion seated on its haunches with front legs planted before him and another depicting a lion with a back leg raised to his neck and poised to scratch (fig. 1). The posture of the lion with raised back leg is a classic Chinese Tang dynasty (618-907) motif seen in eighth and ninth century pottery, silverware and stone (fig. 2). Compare, for example, a sancai-glazed pottery figure of a lion in Sekai tōji zenshū / Ceramic Art of the World, vol. XI: Sui Tō / Sui and T'ang Dynasties, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 67. A lion seated four-square on its haunches, also seen in Tang dynasty works, was the emblem of sovereignty in Tibet during the Imperial Period, see Amy Heller, Tibetan Art, Milan, 1999, p. 15. The lion motif is not seen in China or Tibet after this period, and their depiction on the Buddha’s robe thus suggests the statue is likely to date to around the ninth century. Furthermore, the roundel design with pearl border recalls eighth and ninth century Sogdian and Central Asian textile motifs, see James Watt and Anne Wardwell, When Silk was Gold, New York, 1997, cat. nos 3 and 5. The decorative textile motifs on the Buddha’s robe appear incompatible with the monastic asceticism practiced by the historical Buddha and may be meant to indicate an early Buddhist iconographic convention where Shakyamuni appears in the guise of Vairochana Buddha in sambhogakaya form. The cult of Vairochana was preeminent in Tibet during the Imperial Period, see Amy Heller, 'Imperial Carving of Vairochana: Ancient Tibetan Buddhist Rock Carvings of Vairochana: Portraits of Tibetan Sovereigns and their Courtiers,' Project Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art, 2023.

Indian sculptural influence is evident throughout, including the tradition of attaching a figure to a separate throne-back by means of a lug between the shoulders. The lug remains intact on this statue but the backplate is lost. In the Indian tradition the figure, its backplate and lotus pedestal would be attached to a separate throne base: for an early ninth century Kurkihar standing Buddha and throne (aureole missing), see Ray et al, Eastern Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1986, pl. 99a. This Tibetan example might have had a similar combination of throne elements: a tear at the rear of the lotus pedestal may have occurred at the time of detachment from the aureole and throne base. Indian gilt copper figures are often gilded on the front only, as is this Tibetan example, where the non-gilt back is, by design, hidden by the backplate. The fluid posture of the Buddha is comparable to early standing figures from Bengal compared to the more rigid upright posture of Buddhas from Bihar, compare the stance of a late seventh or early eighth century Buddha from Bangladesh, ibid., fig. 30a. The standing posture was the most popular iconographic representation of Buddha in northern Indian sculpture from the Gupta (c. 320-750) through the Pala period (c. 750-1200). It is noticeable that after the virtual demise of Indian Buddhism in the late 12th century the popularity of this upright stance waned in central Tibetan regions in favour of images of Buddha seated in vajraparyankasana, primarily depicting Maravijaya Buddha with hands in the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra). The trend may have been related to the focus of eleventh and twelfth century Tibetan pilgrims on Bodh Gaya, the seat of Buddha’s victory over Mara and subsequent enlightenment.

The face of the Buddha is youthful with delicate features, a slightly smiling bow-shaped mouth, a protruding chin, and narrowed, hooded eyes with an otherworldly gaze, comparable to the physiognomy of a ninth or tenth century Tibetan gilt bronze Maitreya in the Yuri Khokhlov Collection, see Khokhlov, 'Metal sculptures of the Tibetan Imperial period', Asian Art, January 2013, fig. 22. See also the distinctive style of a Tibetan standing gilt bronze bodhisattva dating to the ninth or tenth century, in Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, cat. no. 108.

Sotheby’s would like to thank Dr. Amy Heller for her invaluable contribution to the cataloguing of this lot.

此尊罕見之藏傳早期立佛鎏金銅像，造型優雅莊嚴，身姿微呈側傾，右臂上舉（手掌後配），左手自然下垂，輕持袈裟衣褶。螺髮整齊覆頂，高聳肉髻之上飾以蓮花與寶珠。佛身與蓮座一體鑄造，正面與兩側施以厚重鎏金，背部、髮部與蓮座則保留紅銅本色，構成鮮明視覺對比。

袈裟刻飾繁複細緻之織紋圖樣，尤以連珠環紋最為引人注目，環內飾獅子圖案（圖1），一作四足端坐，另一則呈撓頸姿態，後者為唐代典型圖式，廣見於八至九世紀之陶器、金銀器與石雕中（圖2），參見《世界陶磁全集》，卷11《隋唐》，東京，1976年，圖版67。四足坐獅在吐蕃帝國時期亦為王權象徵，參見 Amy Heller，《Tibetan Art》，米蘭，1999年，頁15。該類獅紋於唐代以後已不復見於中藏地區藝術，據此可推測本尊之製作年代約為九世紀。

此外，連珠環紋與八至九世紀粟特及中亞地區流行之織品圖案密切相關，參見 James Watt 與 Anne Wardwell，《When Silk Was Gold》，紐約，1997年，編號3與5。佛陀所著袈裟裝飾華麗，與歷史佛陀之苦行僧侶形象顯不相稱，或反映釋尊於佛教圖像語彙中化現為報身佛毘盧遮那（Vairochana）之「受用身」形象。此一圖像表現尤為契合吐蕃帝國時期對毘盧遮那之崇奉，參見 Amy Heller〈Imperial Carving of Vairochana〉，《Project Himalayan Art》，紐約魯賓藝術博物館，2023年。

本像展現出多項源自印度的造像傳統，尤以肩背處保存之一插榫痕跡為明顯例證，顯示原應配有背光，惟今已佚失。此種結構形式為印度造像慣見之工藝特色，其佛身、背光與蓮座常分別鑄造，最終組裝於獨立寶座之上。參見一尊九世紀初庫爾基哈爾立佛（背光缺失），載於 Ray 等編，《Eastern Indian Bronzes》，新德里，1986年，圖版99a。本像蓮花座後方可見撕裂痕跡，應源自其與背光及寶座分離時所致。此外，其背部未施鎏金亦具意義，反映印度造像慣例，即正面施以水銀鎏金，背面則保留原銅本色，蓋因其背部原為背光遮蔽所掩，無須裝飾。

本像體態自然流暢，身形略呈側傾，與孟加拉地區早期佛立像風格相近，尤與比哈爾地區常見之端直挺立風格有別。可參考一尊約七至八世紀孟加拉佛立像，載於同書，圖30a。

立像為佛陀最常見之形象表現形式，橫跨笈多（約320–750）至帕拉（約750–1200）時期，於北印度佛教造像中佔據主流地位。然而，自十二世紀末印度佛教式微以來，此種直立佛形在西藏中部逐漸式微，取而代之者為結「金剛跏趺坐」（vajraparyaṅkāsana）之坐佛形制，尤多呈現釋尊降魔成道之像，即「降魔佛」（Maravijaya），雙手施「觸地印」（bhumisparśa mudrā）。此一趨勢之轉變，或與十一至十二世紀間藏族朝聖者日益聚焦於菩提伽耶——釋迦成道之聖地——密切相關，顯示佛教圖像在地域性崇拜中心變遷下之風格演化。

本像面容俊秀清朗，五官勻稱端麗，略帶微笑之弓形唇線、突下巴與細長微垂之雙目，構成一種安詳超然之神采。其面相風格可比Yuri Khokhlov舊藏一尊九至十世紀藏地彌勒像，參見其〈Metal Sculptures of the Tibetan Imperial Period〉，《亞洲藝術》，圖22。另可比較 Pratapaditya Pal，《Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure》，芝加哥，2003年，編號108，所載一尊九至十世紀藏地立姿菩薩，其面部塑形與裝飾語彙亦與本尊相近，進一步強化其斷代與地域歸屬之依據。

蘇富比由衷感謝Dr. Amy Helle博士對本拍品圖錄撰寫所提供之寶貴協助。