A gilt-bronze figure of Mahasthamaprapta, Tang dynasty | 唐 銅鎏金大勢至菩薩立像

M. Bing, Paris, 6th October 1909. 

M. Bing，巴黎，1909年10月6日

Elegantly attired as an early Indian prince, the bodhisattva stands in abhanga with one hip swaying slightly to the left on an octagonal double-lotus base. The figure's highly recognizable contrapposto stance became especially popular during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (712-756). The slight asymmetry of the cascading drapery and jewelry imparts the possibility of movement, imbuing the figure with a graceful demeanor. The diety's slim features, sumptuous adornment, and gently curved posture are characteristic of Tang dynasty sculpture. This period witnessed the development of a more naturalistic, graceful style inspired by Indian sculpture, in which deities took on a more relatable and benevolent appearance. 

The present figure of Mahasthamaprapta can be identified by the jar at the center of the tall chignon, which symbolizes wisdom. Mahasthamaprapta translates to 'arrival of great strength', and is the bodhisattva of the power of wisdom. In Chinese, he is known as Dashizhi. In Pure Land Buddhism, he is often depicted in a triad with Avalokiteshvara and Amitabha, with the two bodhisattvas flanking the Buddha. In this trinity, Avalokiteshvara enacts Amitabha's compassion while Mahasthamaprapta brings humanity to the power of Amitabha's wisdom. 

Tang dynasty gilt-bronze figures of Mahasthamaprapta are rare. In Chinese art, the bodhisattva often resembles Avalokiteshvara. For stylistically similar gilt-bronze figures, compare a figure of eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara formerly in the collection of Sakamoto Gorō, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th October 2016, lot 3218; and a larger figure of Avalokiteshvara in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, illustrated in Angela Falco Howard et al., Chinese Sculpture, New Haven & London, 2006, pl. 3.118. Another figure of a bodhisattva, with related elliptical folds of drapery to the lower body, was sold in these rooms, 18th-19th March 2014, lot 175. A stylistically comparable gray limestone figure of Avalokiteshvara Padmapani from the David-Weill Collection is illustrated in Osvald Sirén, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, London, 1925, pl. 413A. 

For Tang dynasty depictions of Mahasthamaprapta in other media, compare a gray limestone figure, conceived as a pair with Avalokiteshvara, formerly in the collection of Grenville L. Winthrop, illustrated in Sirén, op. cit., pl. 372, and later sold at Christie's New York, 14th September 2018, lots 1123 and 1124. See also a mid- to late 7th century stele with the two bodhisattvas in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 30.122). Finally, compare a Sui dynasty gilt-bronze figure of Mahasthamaprapta in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo (accession no. TC652).

唐代銅鎏金大勢至菩薩像稀見無多。縱覽漢傳造像藝術，菩薩形象多似觀世音。可比數尊銅鎏金像，風格相近，如十一面觀音像一例，坂本五郎舊藏，售於香港蘇富比2016年10月5日，編號3218；及一尊觀音像，尺寸較大，哈佛藝術博物館藏，劍橋，錄Angela Falco Howard等，《Chinese Sculpture》，紐黑文及倫敦，2006年，圖3.118。另一尊菩薩像，下身衣褶相類，售於紐約蘇富比2014年3月18至19日，編號175。亦可比石灰岩雕蓮華手觀音像一尊，David-Weill寶蓄，錄喜龍仁，《Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century》，倫敦，1925年，圖版413A。

Winthrop舊藏，錄喜龍仁前述出處，圖版372，後售於紐約佳士得2018年9月14日，編號1123及1124。另比一七世紀中葉經幢台，塑觀音、勢至二菩薩，大都會藝術博物館藏，紐約（編號30.122）。再比一隋代銅鎏金大勢至菩薩像，東京國立博物館藏（編號TC652）。