Lot 140
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AMITAYUS Mongolia, Zanabazar School, 18th century
29 – 30 May 2022, 15:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceHK$1,000,000 - HK$1,200,000
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A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AMITAYUS
Mongolia, Zanabazar School, 18th century
Cast with an idealized physique and refined details, this gilt bronze figure represents Amitayus in full bodhisattva guise, with crown and jewels, sitting elegantly with both hands resting in his lap, holding a richly decorated vase containing the elixir of immortality, wearing hair ornaments of sumptuous crown leaves and earrings contrasting with the more restrained delineation of his necklace, armbands, and bracelets. 25 cm (9 7/8 in.) high
Cast with an idealized physique and refined details, this gilt bronze figure represents Amitayus in full bodhisattva guise, with crown and jewels, sitting elegantly with both hands resting in his lap, holding a richly decorated vase containing the elixir of immortality, wearing hair ornaments of sumptuous crown leaves and earrings contrasting with the more restrained delineation of his necklace, armbands, and bracelets. 25 cm (9 7/8 in.) high
Footnotes
蒙古 扎納巴扎爾風格 十八世紀 銅鎏金無量壽佛像
Provenance:
A. S. Mochin collection
來源:
A. S. Mochin舊藏
Himalayan Art Resources item no.4502
喜馬拉雅藝術資料庫編號4502
The sculpture was created in the artistic idiom of Jebstundampa Khutukhtu Zanabazar (1635–1723), a Mongolian religious leader and master artist renowned for creating a unique style that incorporates elements from Newari, Chinese, and Pala sculptural traditions. Works in the Zanabazar style are characterized by lustrous gilding, smooth contours, as well as perfect proportions and details, as seen in the present figure. The fine arches of Amitayus' brows and his aquiline nose are also hallmarks of the Zanabazar school, as are the distinct lotus petals modeled in the round, with broad inner petals with upturned tips on top of identically-shaped, larger outer petals.
The current lot compares favorably to two other closely related gilt bronze figures of Amitayus from the Zanabazar school: one preserved in The Fine Arts Zanabazar Museum, Ulaanbaatar, with very similar facial and body types, treatments of crown and hair, and almost identical base (HAR 50243); the other from the Collection of Altangerel Ayurzana, depicting the deity holding a similarly-designed, long-life vase wrapped in a piece of decorative textile with evenly arranged folds (see Ayurzana, Treasures of Mongolian Art, 2005, pp.38-9). Also see a Zanabazar-style gilt bronze Shadakshari with similar double-layered necklace design held in The Fine Arts Zanabazar Museum, Ulaanbaatar (HAR 81407).
在藏傳佛教中，居於西方極樂世界的阿彌陀佛可分為無量壽佛及無量光佛兩種神格形像。無量光佛化現為比丘裝，身穿袈娑，不戴寶冠，而本造像無量壽佛則為菩薩裝，頭戴五葉寶冠，髮髻高聳，餘髮披肩。面相豐腴圓潤，額間施白毫，鼻眉相連，咀角含笑，神情祥和。全身配飾繁複華麗，葉形耳環垂肩，上身袒露，胸前戴瓔珞項鏈，珠粒精圓勻稱，臂釧、手鐲、腳鐲均精工細作。下身著貼體薄裙，裙邊鏨刻卷花紋，裙褶呈放射狀鋪於座面。雙手於腹前結禪定印，掌心托寶瓶。全跏趺坐於蓮花座上，寶座高起，上下沿飾連珠紋，兩層蓮花瓣整齊交錯排列，蓮瓣寬扁，陰刻蓮蕊，為典型蒙古扎納巴扎爾造像的風格特徵。整體銅質厚重，表面鎏金光亮，鑄工精湛。
一世哲布尊丹巴呼圖克圖扎那巴扎爾（1635-1723）是喀爾喀蒙古地區的宗教領袖，也是一位才華洋溢的藝術家，其造像融合尼泊爾、中國及帕拉風格而成，自成一派。扎那巴扎爾的造像以鎏金厚重、金光絢麗著稱，且身體比例勻稱，線條及細節刻劃流暢精緻。而扎那巴扎爾造像獨特的面相亦同樣引人入勝，正如本作所示，無量壽佛彎長的眉線與鼻線相連，鼻樑挺俊。至於雙層仰覆式蓮花座，其蓮瓣寬大，扁平而光滑，瓣尖略翹，束腰不深，緊貼座壁，也是該派造像之一大特色。
比較兩件風格類同的銅鎏金無量壽佛像，同為扎納巴扎爾之造像，其中一件現藏於蒙古烏蘭巴托扎那巴扎爾美術博物館（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網50243號），其面部表情、身姿、寶冠及蓮座皆與本作如出一轍；另一件乃是Altangerel Ayurzana所藏，其手中所托長壽寶瓶鑄飾摺痕規整的裹布，設計華麗寫實，見A. Ayurzana著，《Treasures of Mongolian Art》，2005年，頁38-9。另可參考一件扎納巴扎爾風格的銅鎏金四臂觀音，現藏於烏蘭巴托扎那巴扎爾美術博物館（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網81407號），其胸前項鏈跟本作甚為相似，皆為雙層連珠式。