A THANGKA OF AMITAYUS

QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Footnotes

This beautiful painting, with a rich palette and pleasing symmetry, depicts Amitayus, the bodhisattva of long life, multiplied within a paradisiacal landscape of lush foliage and wondrous multi-colored clouds. Repeated twelve times in the composition, the central Amitayus sits upon a lotus throne of very finely painted petals, unfurling before our eyes. The rectangular base is guarded by spirited lions either side of a flaming triratna.

The thangka is identical, in all but minor details, to another sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1548. Clearly the two were once part of a set. Sotheby's ascribed an imperial provenance to their painting, which is not unreasonable given the impressive quality, but is uncertain in the absence of a dedicatory inscription. However, this painting certainly compares favourably to others attributed to Imperial ateliers, published in Zangchuan Fojiao Tangka, Hong Kong, 2006, pp.110-2, no.100-1. Within an imperial context, Xumi Fushou temple in Chengde, completed in 1780 to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Qianlong Emporer, is a possible source of origin given its associations with multiplied forms of Amitayus.

Meanwhile, the very particular type of necklace seen throughout the painting, with round lotus medallions and lacelike strands, echo the work performed by the Zanabazar ateliers of Mongolia. Direct comparison can be made with monumental bronzes published in Tsultem, The Eminent Mongolian Sculptor – G. Zanabazar, Ulan-Bator, 1982. This is particularly the case with one example of Vajradhara (pp.28-9), which also shares the common treatment of a long lotus stalk below the finial rising out of the deity's chignon. Moreover, the twice-jewelled and rounded crown leaves seen on the main figure of Amitayus in this painting echo that appearing on a bronze of Akshobya (pp.32-5).

However, the silk lower garments worn by the figures in this painting depart from the Zanabazar school and are more in keeping with a Chinese imperial style. A Kangxi period bronze of Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari, contemporaneous to the Zanabazar school, evokes a similar treatment of the jewellery and crown (Zangchuan Fojiao Zaoxiang, Hong Kong, 2008, p.237, no.226). It and the present lot appear to indicate a degree of artistic borrowing between the premier ateliers of the late 17th/early 18th century, and perhaps the movement of artists between them.

Provenance
Private European Collection


無量壽佛唐卡
清朝，十八世紀
布本設色，裱於木板之上。
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網2133號
102.5 x 63 釐米（40 3/8 x 24 3/4 英寸）

600,000 - 800,000 港元

此幅精美唐卡色彩豐富，對稱布局令人賞心悅目，畫中長壽菩薩無量壽佛身處極樂之境，繁茂花草和七彩祥雲環繞四周。畫中共繪有無量壽佛十二尊，中央主尊端坐於蓮花寶座之上，蓮瓣描繪纖毫畢現、栩栩如生。方形底座中心繪火焰狀"三寶" （triratna），威武雄獅護衛兩側。

除微小差異外與其幾乎相同的唐卡於 2007 年 10 月 9 日在香港蘇富比售出，拍品 1548 號。很明顯，這兩幅唐卡原同屬一組作品。蘇富比認為其拍品出自宮廷，雖然從其高超的畫工來看不無道理，但是在沒有題款的情形下很難確定。本拍品從藝術水平方面勝於在藏傳佛教唐卡一書中被斷為御制的幾幅唐卡（藏傳佛教唐卡，香港，2006 年，頁 110-112，100-101 號）。若出自宮廷，那為慶賀乾隆皇帝七十大壽而於1780 年修造的承德須彌福壽之廟便可能為其出處，因為此廟之藝術作品常以重復出現之無量壽佛為主題。

同時，畫中多次出現的項鏈造型獨特，蓮花圓飾配以蕾絲狀鏈條，與蒙古札那巴札爾派風格相仿。帶有相似元素的造像可見於 Tsultem 編著的 The Eminent Mongolian Sculptor – G. Zanabazar，烏蘭巴托，1982 年。其中一尊金剛總持造像（頁 28-29）最為相似，兩作品中均有長莖蓮花芽尖從本尊發髻中伸出。此外，畫幅中心無量壽佛的圓形雙寶冠葉與阿閦佛像（頁 32-35）的寶冠冠葉相仿。

然而，畫中無量壽佛下身所著綢裙卻與札那巴札爾風格迥異，而更接近中原宮廷風格。康熙時期的一尊四臂觀音像（與札那巴札爾派同期）在珠玉和寶冠刻畫上與此幅繪畫相似（參見藏傳佛教造像，香港，2008 年，頁 237，226 號）。此尊造像與本拍品表明，十七世紀末至十八世紀初，不同地區的作坊會一定程度地相互借鑒藝術風格，或許其藝術家亦會來往交流。

來源
歐洲私人收藏