A RARE GILT-BRONZE HEAD OF A CROWNED BUDDHA, TIBET, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A RARE GILT-BRONZE HEAD OF A CROWNED BUDDHA, TIBET, 15TH-16TH CENTURY Finely cast with a serene expression and heavy lidded, sinuous eyes below gently arched brows centered by an urna, the lips forming a subtle smile, flanked by elongated earlobes, and the hair combed into a tall chignon behind the five-leaf crown. Dimensions: Height 13.6 cm (excl. stand), 22.8 cm (incl. stand) With a modern, fitted, and finely carved dark wood stand. (2) Expert’s note: The head probably represents one of the Five Great Buddhas, also known as the Five Transcendent Buddhas, although Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, is another plausible identification. The elaborate crown and high chignon express the princely appearance assumed by Buddhas in their celestial, or sambhogakaya, form, an imagery also shared by bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. The original hand gestures and attributes would have distinguished the particular deity. Comparison with complete sculptures suggests that the head belonged to a substantial image approximately 40-45 cm high if seated cross-legged, or 55-65 cm if standing, depending on the proportions and height of the base. Tibetan sculpture of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries developed within a rich tradition of exchange between Tibet, Nepal, and China. Newar craftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley played a formative role, producing numerous images for Tibetan monasteries during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their mastery of casting, gilding, and intricate ornament found particularly lavish expression at Densatil, where gilt copper-alloy deities adorned the monastery’s great tashi gomang reliquary stupas. The present head’s finely articulated crown, sinuous eyelids, and delicately modeled mouth recall this enduring Nepalese contribution to Tibetan sculpture. Artistic exchange with the Chinese court further enriched this tradition. Under the Yuan dynasty, Newar masters such as Anige helped shape imperial Buddhist art, bringing Himalayan techniques and forms into the service of the court. Early Ming workshops developed this inheritance, particularly under the Yongle emperor, whose gifts of Buddhist sculptures to Tibetan religious institutions carried imperial interpretations of Himalayan models back into Tibet. The resulting exchange of artists, images, and ornamental forms created the sophisticated sculptural vocabulary within which the present head was conceived. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related gilt-bronze head of Maitreya, dated to the 15th century, in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang. Compare a closely related gilt copper-alloy head of a guardian king from Densatil, Tibet, dated circa 1386, in a private collection, illustrated by Jean-Luc Estournel, “About the 18 stupas and other treasures once at the Densatil monastery,” Asianart.com, 29 September 2020, fig. 147.

图片