A STONE PLAQUE WITH SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF BUDDHA

NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH/12TH CENTURY

Footnotes

Portable, intricately carved, and packed with stories about the life of Buddha, this pyrophyllite stone plaque belongs to a small group that occupy a pivotal place within Buddhist art history and the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia.

Originally carved during the Pala period in Northeast India (8th-12th centuries), these plaques have been discovered in remote repositories as far as Tibet, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, some bearing inscriptions just as varied, including Newari, Tibetan, and Chinese (see British Museum, acc.#1945,1017.252).

Iconographic elements within refer to important moments in Buddha's life, which also correspond to the eight holy Buddhist pilgrimage sites of antiquity. This has led scholars to deduce that these plaques were once sacred souvenirs for pilgrims journeying to the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India.

At the center, Buddha calls upon the Earth to witness his enlightenment beneath the Mahabodhi tree. The plaque's outer rim is carved with the seven other chief moments in his life. About level with his knees, starting at the bottom right and rising counterclockwise, we see the nativity at Lumbini, Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath, his descent from Trayastrimsa heaven at Samkashya, his parinirvana at Kushinagar, his taming of the mad elephant at Nayagiri, his miracles at Sravasti, and his receipt of honey from a monkey at Vashali.

Within a set of inner columns either side of the main figure, the plaque also makes reference to important events occurring in the initial weeks after Buddha's enlightenment. Although difficult to identify the order with certainty, starting again from the bottom right, level with his knees, and working counterclockwise, we most likely see Buddha being protected by Muchalinda (week 5), him sitting under the banyan tree Ajapala (week 6), standing and gazing at the Bodhi tree (week 2), walking up and down the grove (week 3), contemplating a house of gems (week 4), and receiving gifts under the Rajayatana tree (week 7).

These compact, intensely didactic devices played a part in the survival of Buddhism once the Indian pilgrimage sites were razed in the 13th century, and help to account for why the legacy of Pala art can be seen in the early styles of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. Another plaque was recently sold at Sotheby's, New York, 16 March 2016, lot 754, and nine others located within Tibetan monasteries are published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. 1, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.400-05, pls.129A-31C.

Provenance
Private Collection, Japan
John Siudmak Asian Art, London


佛本生故事小型石碑
印度東北部，帕拉時期，十一／十二世紀
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網2128號
高15.1釐米（5 7/8英寸）

600,000-800,000 港元

此塊葉臘石碑小巧便攜、精雕細刻，描繪佛本生故事。同類的一小組石碑在佛教藝術史上占有舉足輕重之地位，助力弘揚佛法，影響遍及亞洲。

此等石碑原雕刻於東北印度帕拉王朝（八至十二世紀），及後在遠至西藏、緬甸與斯理蘭卡等地被發現，碑文多種多樣，包括尼瓦爾文、藏文及中文（參見大英博物館，1945，1017.252）。

石碑的圖像元素展現了佛祖生平之重要事跡，亦對應八大佛教朝聖古蹟。學者因此推斷，此等石碑曾為赴印度菩提伽耶大菩提寺朝聖者之紀念聖物。

石碑正中，釋迦牟尼在菩提樹下悟道成佛，以大地為證；其外圍刻劃了其生平之另外七個重要時刻。從他膝蓋旁右下方逆時針方向起，我們看到他在藍毗尼出生，在鹿野苑第一次講經，在僧伽施從忉利天降還人間，在拘屍那羅涅槃，在王舍城馴服狂像，在舍衛城行奇蹟，以及在毘舍離收到猴子送的蜂蜜。

主像兩旁有幾列小雕像，描繪佛祖悟道後最初幾週之大事（順序準確與否較難確定），從膝蓋水平處右下方逆時針方向起，我們似乎看到佛祖受目支鄰陀保護（第五週），坐在阿加伯拉菩提樹下（第六週），站立姿凝視菩提樹（第二週），在小樹林上下經行（第三週），凝望法寶之屋（第四週），以及在藍迦耶塔那樹下接受饋贈（第七週）。

此等極富教化功能的小石碑，在印度聖地於十三世紀遭到破壞後，對佛教的傳承起著積極作用，亦解釋了為何帕拉藝術之痕跡可見於東南亞與喜馬拉雅早期之藝術風格。另一塊同類石碑於2016年3月16日在紐約蘇富比售出，另有九塊藏於西藏寺院之內，出版於馮·施羅德，西藏佛教造像，卷一，香港，2001年，頁400-05，版圖129A-31C。

來源
日本私人收藏
John Siudmak 亞洲藝術，倫敦