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拍品專文
This present work depicts one of the rare forms of Maitreya as a meditational deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. The Bodhisattva is depicted holding his right hand in front of him in the abhaya mudra, the gesture of fearlessness, and his left hand touches the earth, holding the stem of a lotus. The lotus flower blooming at his shoulder supports a kundika (a ritual water vessel), theidentifying iconographic attribute of Maitreya. Maitreya in the form of the present work is classified as a ‘wisdom deity’ in the Kriya class of Buddhist tantra and illustrated by the 4th Panchen Lama Tenpai Nyima (1782-1853), edited by Martin Wilson and Martin Brauen, in the Deities of Tibetan Buddhism: The Zurich Paintings of the Icons Worthwhile to See (Bris sku mthon ba don ldan), Boston, 2000; illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number. 40382.
The heavy casting, rich gilding, and the inlay of diverse semi-precious gemstones suggest that this statue was made by Nepalese artisans working in Tibet. The rectangular urna recalls the earlier sculptural tradition of Pala bronze sculptures created during the golden age of Buddhism in Northeastern India. These characteristics relate to works produced at the famed Densatil Monastery and surrounding region of south central Tibet in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Located southeast of Lhasa in central Tibet, Densatil Monastery was founded in 1179 by Phagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo, one of the three principal students of Gampopa, the founder of the Pagdru Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. As the sect grew in wealth and political power, eight lavishly decorated monumental stupas, known as tashi gomang (“many doors of auspiciousness”) were constructed in Densatil Monastery's main hall. Tragically destroyed in the second half of the twentieth century, little remains from the original site except for a small group of salvaged fragments which have been preserved in private collections and museums. Smaller sculptures, such as the present lot, may not have been associated with the larger golden Tashi Gomang sculptural group, but rather, may have been used as portable objects of devotion for important teachers within the monastery.
The heavy casting, rich gilding, and the inlay of diverse semi-precious gemstones suggest that this statue was made by Nepalese artisans working in Tibet. The rectangular urna recalls the earlier sculptural tradition of Pala bronze sculptures created during the golden age of Buddhism in Northeastern India. These characteristics relate to works produced at the famed Densatil Monastery and surrounding region of south central Tibet in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Located southeast of Lhasa in central Tibet, Densatil Monastery was founded in 1179 by Phagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo, one of the three principal students of Gampopa, the founder of the Pagdru Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. As the sect grew in wealth and political power, eight lavishly decorated monumental stupas, known as tashi gomang (“many doors of auspiciousness”) were constructed in Densatil Monastery's main hall. Tragically destroyed in the second half of the twentieth century, little remains from the original site except for a small group of salvaged fragments which have been preserved in private collections and museums. Smaller sculptures, such as the present lot, may not have been associated with the larger golden Tashi Gomang sculptural group, but rather, may have been used as portable objects of devotion for important teachers within the monastery.