A large copper-alloy stupa, Central Tibet, circa 13th century | 藏中 約十三世紀 藏傳合金銅佛塔

Galerie Koller, Zurich, 26th / 27th November 1993, lot 24.

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Koller藝廊，蘇黎世，1993年11月26-27日，編號24

The hollow bell-shaped body (anda) of the stupa, with a stepped platform and railing (harmika) above, a tapering spire of thirteen discs (chattra), with a parasol and lotus bud finial, all supported on a circular base with evenly spaced, unaligned lotus petals. The model for this form of stupa is found in eastern Indian Pala period (8th-12th c) traditions seen in eleventh and twelfth century Buddhist temple architecture and palm leaf manuscript illuminations, such as the stupas in a twelfth century Prajnaparamita text from Bengal or Bihar, see J. Dye, The Arts of India, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2001, cat. no. 65. In Tibet, this form of reliquary is colloquially known as Kadampa Chorten after the early Tibetan Buddhist Kadampa order that grew out of the teachings of the Indian master Atisha (982-1054), who is traditionally credited with establishing this form of stupa in Tibet. The consecration material of a related Kadampa Chorten in the Newark Museum included grains of barley that were dated by radiocarbon analysis to 1230 CE, see V. Reynolds et al, Tibetan Collection, Newark, 1986, Vol. III, p. 71.

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此尊佛塔為中空鐘形塔身，上方置有層階平台與欄楯，塔身逐漸上升為十三層圓盤構成的尖頂，並飾以華蓋及蓮苞塔頂。整體立於圓形底座上，基底環繞著排列均勻卻交錯之蓮花瓣。此類佛塔形式源自印度東部帕拉時期（公元8至12世紀）之傳統，其風格可見於十一至十二世紀的佛教寺廟建築及棕櫚葉經插圖，例如來自孟加拉或比哈爾的十二世紀《般若波羅蜜多經》中的佛塔，詳見J. Dye著《印度藝術》，弗吉尼亞美術館，2001年，圖版65。在西藏此類佛塔被稱為「噶當塔」，樣式與噶當派的早期傳承有關，該教派源自印度阿底峽尊者教義，一般認為阿底峽將此類塔型引入西藏。可比較美國紐華克博物館藏有一件相似噶當塔，其內藏供品包含大麥，經放射性碳年代測定為1230年，詳見V. Reynolds等，《西藏藏品》，紐華克，1986年，卷三，頁71。