Mark Rasmussen
International Director
Lot 615
A SILVER INLAID GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MANJUSHRI NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
23 September 2020, 15:00 EDT
New YorkUS$60,000 - US$80,000
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A SILVER INLAID GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MANJUSHRI
NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16815
4 3/4 in. (12.2 cm) high
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16815
4 3/4 in. (12.2 cm) high
Footnotes
尼泊爾 十四世紀 銅錯銀鎏金文殊菩薩像
Manjushri is one of the most important and popularly invoked bodhisattvas in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. The Bodhisattva of Perfected Wisdom is represented here in a gem-like gilded image. Holding his hands in the teaching mudra, he gently looks down and enters a state of meditation, while a slight contrapuntal sway of his head and torso adds a sense of immediacy. His sword and sutra emerge from two prominent lotus flowers by his shoulders forming a wing-like silhouette, highlighting the bodhisattva's transcendent nature.
The sculpting of the figure's powerful yet supple physique and the exquisite detailing of his regalia are hallmarks of Newari master craftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley working for Tibetan patrons. His robust body type and broad forehead conform to classic Nepalese aesthetics, as does the compressed lotus base with plump petals. His necklace, armbands, and earrings, bedecked with inset stones and silver inlay, are remarkably elaborate for a sculpture of this scale.
A larger gilt bronze Manjushri in the Capital Museum, Beijing is stylistically related to the present work (Capital Museum, The Goddess of Mercy in Buddhism, Beijing, 2008, pp.198-9, no.9). The two figures are similar in their robust body and facial type, and wear almost identical ear ornaments–each consisting of a diamond-shaped pendant and an upswept tassel inset with semi-precious stones. They also share the same type of dhoti with incised floral patterns around the knee and rice-grain design within the hem.
A 14th-century Amitayus in the Collection of Harish K. Patel has almost identical armbands and crown (see Hall (ed.), Tibet: Tradition and Change, Albuquerque, 1997, pp.84-5, pl.42a). Also compare the lotus base and the down swept lotus petals supporting the sutra by his shoulder to another Manjushri published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.376, no.100C.
Provenance
Private Swiss Collection since 2009