A VERY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL AND GILT-BRONZE DRUM-SHAPED 'MANDALA'

Ming Dynasty

Footnotes

明 銅胎掐絲琺瑯纏枝蓮八吉祥鼓式壇城

The present drum-shaped 'mandala' is very rare and relates to a small group of cloisonné enamel three-dimensional one-tiered mandala bases dating to the 15th century, which are decorated with the bajixiang: one in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, first half 15th century; a second one, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC, first half 15th century, illustrated by M.Henss, Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet, 2020, pp.96-97, figs.84-85; a third decorated with the bajixiang around the sides, second half 15th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated by B.Quette, ed., Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, 2011, p.239, no.29; a fourth dated as early 1400s, is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (acc.no.1987.58); and a fifth is in the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California, (acc.no.1990.52.3, dated as Wanli but likely to be earlier). Henss notes that cloisonné enamel offering manadalas are likely to have represented a limited Court production and ritual practice, which were given to Buddhist dignitaries and temples, both in China and Tibet, during the Ming period.

A mandala is a cosmic representation of the universe used by a Buddhist adept or a lama for meditational purposes. The profusion of lotus flowers, emblematic of purity, represented the voice of the Buddha, while the Eight Buddhist Emblems his spiritual authority. Offering a mandala was thus the highest ritual form of devotion, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and in Vajrayana Buddhism, was an essential practice that allowed the adept accumulate the merits of the six perfections. M.Henss, Ibid., pp.110-111.

The decoration of the lotuses on the top of the present lot is similar to those on a cloisonné enamel vases, mid Ming dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 1 Cloisonné in the Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) Dynasties, Beijing, 2011, nos.62 and 63.

See also a cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze hexagonal stand, late Ming dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Ibid., no.176. Compare also related overlapping gilt-bronze rings on a smaller cloisonné enamel drum-shaped incense burner, early Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2 Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, no.60. Compare, however, the closely related lotus blossoms and leafy tendrils on the base of a cloisonné enamel basin, second half 16th century, illustrated by B.Quette, ed., Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, 2011, p.111, fig.6.14.