A large silver-inlaid copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara, Western Tibet, 11th century | 藏西 十一世紀 銅合金錯銀銅觀音立像

Sotheby's New York, 23rd March 2000, lot 24.

紐約蘇富比2000年3月23日，編號24

This commanding statue of Avalokiteshvara Padmapani epitomizes the Kashmiri style of Western Tibetan Buddhist art in the eleventh century. The artist was clearly familiar with the subtleties of Kashmiri sculpture, many elements of which had remained more or less consistent for centuries. The form of the crown, for instance, with three large panels, each consisting of a beaded crescent-shaped element with jeweled finials supporting a central gem-set cluster and long billowing textile crown ties was established in Kashmir as early as the eighth century, and is evident in works such as a standing crowned Buddha at Cankuna’s stupa (see John Siudmak, The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences, Leiden and Boston, 2013, pl. 151a). The narrowed eyes, arched eyebrows, lobed lower lip and pronounced chin are traditional features of Kashmiri sculpture from as early as the eighth century. For example, compare an ivory Buddha, illustrated in ibid., pl. 164. The long garland around the shoulders reaching down to the ankle is seen on depictions from at least the seventh century, as seen on a bronze figure of Brahma, ibid., pl. 183 and the distinctive lobed treatment of the abdomen is apparent in eighth century works, such as a Patola Shahi Maitreya, illustrated in ibid., pl. 143. The treatment of the lotus flower at Avalokiteshvara’s shoulder is unusual, with lobed rather than smooth petals like those on Kashmiri statues such as a late tenth century Padmapani, illustrated in ibid, pl. 232, and eleventh century Western Tibetan statues done in the Kashmir style, such as the Padmapani in the Pritzker Collection, included in the exhibition, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 2003, cat. no. 85. Lobed lotus petals are, however, part of the Kashmir artists’ repertoire and were commonly used on the pedestals of Kashmir statues in the ninth and tenth centuries, see Pratapaditya Pal, Bronzes of Kashmir, Graz, 1975, pls 25, 27, 53, 57, 62 and 65. Familiarity with a breadth of Himalayan sculptural devices suggest the hand of a Kashmiri artist in this accomplished statue.

Dr. Pal speculates that the Western Tibetan Padmapani in the Pritzker Collection, mentioned above, and a similar bodhisattva at the Asia Society in the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Collection, illustrated in Pal, op. cit., 2003, pl. 86, were made in a workshop established by Kashmiri artists brought to Guge by the Tibetan lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055) on his return from Kashmir in around 980. Certain similarities between the present example and the Pritzker Padmapani are evident, including the unusual secondary earrings applied towards the top of the lobes, the crown, the long crown ties reaching the shoulders, and the intense expression of the faces. The posture is similar, with the left leg turned outwards and slightly forward, but the hand gestures differ. Here, the right hand is raised in abhaya mudra and the left stretches down with thumb and forefinger pressed together, holding the stem of the lotus that flowers at the shoulder. The same hand gestures are displayed by the Padmapani figure commissioned by Rinchen Zangpo in 998, illustrated in Siudmak, op. cit., p. 486. It was cast in Kashmir by the artist Bhidhaka and brought to West Tibet and installed at Khatse. Pal dates the Pritzker Padmapani and the Asia Society bodhisattva slightly later than this dateable Kashmir bronze, to between 1000 and 1050—the period when artists from Kashmir could still have been working in Tibet—and a similar eleventh century date may be ascribed to this exceptional Tibetan work of art.

喀什米爾的雕像風格對十一世紀的藏傳佛教藝術影響深遠，此尊蓮華手觀音立像便是此風格的典例。喀什米爾雕塑隱藏含蓄之美，當中不少元素延續了好幾個世紀都沒有變化，製作本觀音像的工匠顯然深知其魅力所在。例如頭頂的三葉華冠，每瓣冠葉飾新月形珠串，新月兩端綴有珠寶，承托起中央的寶石，長長的繒帶飄垂兩側。上述特徵始見於八世紀的喀什米爾佛教藝術品，參照一尊Cankuna佛塔中的立佛作例，載於John Siudmak，《The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences》，2013年，圖版151a。早在八世紀時，本品所呈現的雙目細長，眉毛彎曲，下唇豐腴，下巴秀挺便已是喀什米爾風格觀音像主要的視覺特征，由此可參考一例象牙雕佛像，前述出處，圖版164。此觀音像的天衣順著兩肩垂落至腳踝，與最遲見於七世紀的造像有異曲同工之妙，前述出處，圖版183。輕微凹陷的腹部輪廓在八世紀的佛像中亦極為普遍，例如一尊突厥沙希王朝時期的彌勒佛像，前述出處，圖版143。觀音左肩上的立體刻面蓮花花瓣卻有別於喀什米爾佛像中常見的光滑無紋的花瓣，參見一尊十世紀末蓮華手觀音，前述出處，圖版232，以及Pritzker收藏的十一世紀西藏喀什米爾風格蓮華手觀音像，載於Pratapaditya Pal，《Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure》，2003年，圖版85。然而，弧形刻面蓮花瓣是喀什米爾造像的代表工藝，常見於九及十世紀的蓮花座，參考Pratapaditya Pal，《Bronzes of Kashmir》，1975年，圖版25、27、53、57、62、65。

西藏大譯師仁欽桑布（958-1055）在980年率一眾喀什米爾工匠，從當地返回古格王國，Pal博士推測，上文提及的Pritzker收藏西藏蓮華手觀音像以及現位於紐約亞洲協會的小約翰• 戴維森• 洛克菲勒伉儷收藏的菩薩像近例（前述出處，2003年，圖版86），同出於一個由這批喀什米爾工匠所建立的工坊。本品與Pritzker的收藏頗為相似，包括耳垂上方的第二雙耳環，頭冠和披至肩頭的長繒帶，以及緊繃的神態。兩者姿態相近，左足均斜伸向前，然而手部動作相異。此蓮華手觀音右手施無畏印，左手自然垂於身側，大拇指與食指相搭，輕捏在肩上盛放的蓮花花柄。相同的手部姿勢還可見於仁欽桑布998年聘請工匠Bhidhaka在喀什米爾鑄造的蓮華手觀音像，觀音像隨後被運往西藏西部，並安放於卡孜，載於John Siudmak，前述出處，頁486。Pal博士將Pritzker收藏的蓮華手觀音像和亞洲協會的菩薩像定為1000至1050年，比上述的998年觀音像年代稍晚。彼時，那一代的喀什米爾工匠可能仍留在西藏從事造像工作。因此，本品或許來自相近的十一世紀。