Rare figure de Vajrapani en alliage de cuivre doré Népal, Licchavi (ca 400-879) ou début de la période Transition (ca 880-1200), IXE-XE siècle | 尼泊爾 離車毗 或 過渡時期初期 九至十世紀 鎏金銅合金金剛手菩薩立像 | A rare gilt-copper figure of Vajrapani, Nepal, Licchavi (ca 400-879) or early Transitional period (ca 880-1200), 9th-10th century

The bodhisattva stands in graceful counterpoise (tribhanga) with right leg bent slightly at the knee and a gentle sway of the left hip. The elegant stance is a hallmark of Nepalese sculpture from the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi and Transitional periods, in a style derived ultimately from classical Indian Gupta (4th-6th c) and early Pala period (8th-12th c) works such as a ca. seventh or eighth century eastern Indian stele of a standing Vajrapani in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see Rob Linrothe, Ruthless Compassion, London, 1999, p. 36, pl. 15. Vajrapani is considered to be a protector of the Buddha and has appeared in Buddhist sculpture since the Kushan empire (2nd-4th c).

This rare and early Nepalese statue of Vajrapani is cast in unalloyed copper according to ancient Newar foundry traditions, and retains traces of the original fire gilding: remains of polychrome on the surface suggests that the statue has been in Tibet where the ritual application of paint is common.

Vajrapani’s right hand is raised in the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra), with the eponymous vajra sceptre held in the lowered left hand: cf. a Nepalese standing Vajrapani dated seventh to ninth century, see Han Yong, compiler, Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series: Buddhist Statues I, Beijing, 2001, p. 94, pl. 52.

The iconography of the two statues is identical and the style similar, with only minor differences in detail such as the earring type: the Beijing Vajrapani wears a matching pair of lotus-form earrings while the present example has a similar lotus-form earring at the right ear and a large hoop suspended from the left. This asymmetric earring style, possibly based on contemporary royal fashion, is a common feature of early Nepalese and Indian sculpture: cf. similar earrings on a ninth or tenth century Nepalese gilt copper standing Indra in the Qing Palace, see The Palace Museum, Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1992, p. 83, pl. 55, and the early Pala period stele of Vajrapani in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Linrothe, op. cit: cf. also the style of wrapped metal arm bands on the Pala stele and the Nepalese gilt copper Vajrapani in Beijing. The pronounced webbing between fingers and thumb, seen particularly on the raised right hand of the Vajrapani, is one of the signs (lakshana) of an enlightened being and is prominently depicted in early Indian and Nepalese sculpture: the webbing becomes less conspicuous in later works.

The open-pronged style of the vajra in the left hand is typical of early Nepalese interpretations of the ritual implement: cf. the vajra in the hands of both the Vajrapani and the Indra in the Beijing collections mentioned above. A halo of flames encircles the heads of the two Beijing statues but is broken and missing from the present example, where a ridge across the back of the shoulders indicates the break: the sash at the lower right leg is damaged and truncated, possibly a result of the same accident.

金剛手菩薩立姿優雅，右膝微曲，髖略左傾，彰顯尼泊爾加德滿都，於尼波羅國時期之造像風格，得印度笈多王朝與帕拉早期傳統影響，如紐約大都會藝術博物館藏東印度七至八世紀金剛手菩薩碑，見 Rob Linrothe，《Ruthless Compassion》，倫敦，1999年，頁36，圖版15。金剛手菩薩為佛陀護法，始見於貴霜王朝佛造像。此像以純銅鑄之，與古內瓦爾造像傳統一致，表面見原始鎏金痕跡及礦石彩，後者或為藏傳佛教供養所致。菩薩右手上舉，作無畏印，左手下垂持金剛杵，參考一尊九世紀尼泊爾金剛手菩薩立像，錄於《北京文物精粹大系──佛造像卷（上）》，北京，2001年，頁94，圖版52。此例與本品極為相似，風格亦同，惟耳飾細節略有差異：北京藏例著一對相同蓮花式耳飾，本品右耳綴相類蓮花形耳飾，左耳著環型耳飾。不對稱耳飾，或反映當時皇室風尚，可見於早期尼泊爾與印度造像。比較清宮舊藏一件尼泊爾九至十世紀因陀羅立像，刊於《清宮藏傳佛教文物》，北京，1992年，頁83，圖版55，及大都會博物館藏帕拉早期金剛手菩薩石碑，前述出處，其臂釧與前述北京藏例風格相類。菩薩手指間蹼狀相連，尤以右手最為明顯，乃得道者之特徵，多見於印度早期及尼泊爾造像，後期作品較為少見。左手金剛杵股叉如瓣式綻開，乃早期尼泊爾造像特色，參考前述二例。北京藏例頭部有焰形背光，本品背光已佚失，背部一道橫脊應為背光連接處，右腿側飄帶有傷且截短，或與背光損於同時。