Mark Rasmussen
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Lot 17
A copper alloy figure of Syamatara Tibet, Pala style, circa 12th century
Amended
14 September 2015, 14:00 EDT
New YorkUS$100,000 - US$150,000
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A copper alloy figure of Syamatara
Tibet, Pala style, circa 12th century
Seated in royal ease with a lotus rising to support her left foot, she displays the gesture of warding while two fecund lotuses mature by her shoulders, jewelry and diaphanous garments cover her supple body as she smiles reassuringly.
5 1/4 in. (13.2 cm) high
Seated in royal ease with a lotus rising to support her left foot, she displays the gesture of warding while two fecund lotuses mature by her shoulders, jewelry and diaphanous garments cover her supple body as she smiles reassuringly.
5 1/4 in. (13.2 cm) high
Footnotes
西藏 帕拉風格 約十二世紀 綠度母銅像
These standing and seated Taras (lots 16 and 17) are superior examples of early Tibetan sculpture drawing inspiration from Northeastern Indian Pala bronzes. They were created during a time of prolific cultural exchange between the monastic universities of Northeastern India and Central Tibet. Between the 10th-12th centuries, Tibetan pilgrims in search of the "pure" form of Buddhism in the land of Buddha's enlightenment were so moved by the philosophical teachings and material culture at monasteries like Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar that they sought to replicate it in their own culture. This transmission is known as the Chidar.
In this period, new monastic orders were created around the teachings of the Tibetan translator Marpa (1012-1096) and Indian masters, such as Atisha (982-1054), Padmasambhava (8th century), and Virupa (9th century) – namely the Kagyupa, Kadampa, Nyingmapa, and Sakya orders, respectively.1 And just as Indian monastic structures and teachings composed much of the foundation of Tibetan Buddhism, so too Pala sculpture formed the crucible from which much of Tibetan art developed.
The Pala style, particularly of the latter 11th-12th centuries, is typified by an overall high technical execution broaching the precision of jewelry making. Seen for example in a fine Pala Manjushri sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24 March 2011, lot 26, slender yet shapely waists, sinuous lotus stems, beaded anklets, tall headdresses, and armlets, necklaces, and crowns inspired by foliate imagery characterize the style, exemplified in our two Taras as well.
The present bronzes echo the high aesthetic accomplishments of the late Pala style. The lotus pedestals are attempted in the round. The hands are carefully contoured and the fingers elegant. The dhotis are sumptuous and the lotus stems spirited. The bronzes communicate the grace, serenity, and reassurance of the deity.
While it is generally assumed that Tibetan renditions fail to exhibit the same quality in metal casting as Northeastern Indian prototypes, even a cursory glance through the corpus of Pala bronzes actually reveals that our two Tibetan Taras exceed the craftsmanship of many Pala originals. Compare the level of detail, for instance, on a Pala standing Manjushri and a seated Tara held in the Los Angeles County Museum.2
In fact, these two Tibetan Taras not only surpass many Northeastern Indian bronzes, but their faces and physiognomy - with their sumptuous waists and pert breasts - so closely adhere to the Pala emphasis on grace and femininity that at least one of the following extrapolations can be made. These figures were produced while the Pala monasteries were still active, thus preceding other copies that stray further from Pala idioms.3 These figures were produced under or after the close instruction of Northeastern Indian masters. These figures were produced by Northeastern Indian craftsmen working in Tibet – their divergence from Pala prototypes resulting from changes in patronage, material, and/or casting conditions. As such, these two sculptures are fine examples attesting to the transmission and survival of Buddhist sculptural traditions from India to Tibet.
Out of this phase of 'apprenticeship' of Northeastern India, Tibetan sculpture matured to develop its own distinct styles. Yet the Pala legacy lingered and reverberated throughout Tibetan history, the Indian arhats and mahasiddas remaining key figures in all lineages. In the 18th century, the Pala style was introduced and revitalized at the Chinese court. A devout Gelugpa Buddhist, the Qianlong emperor collected and reproduced Pala and Tibetan Pala-style bronzes. The Qing Palace Collection contains at least sixteen Pala 10th-12th century examples and sixteen Tibetan Pala-style 12th-13th century bronzes.4 From these prototypes, the emperor commissioned numerous copies, ushering in a sub-school of Qing Buddhist bronzes known as Pala Revival.5
1. See Heller, Tibetan Art, Milan, 1999, pp. 124-6.
2. Pal, Indian Sculpture, Los Angeles, 1988, pp. 206 & 208-9, nos 102 & 104.
3. Contrast against the following 13th-century examples published in: Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zurich, 1995, p. 142, no. 89; Weldon, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet, London, 1999, p. 56, fig. 19; Zangchuan fojiao zaoxiang-Gugong bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 129, no. 123.
4. For Pala examples, see Zangchuan fojiao zaoxiang-Gugong bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji , Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 43-59, nos 42-57; for Tibet Pala-style examples, see ibid., pp. 110-3, 115-23, 128-9, & 131-2, nos 105-8, 105-17, 122-3, & 125-6.
5. See examples, ibid., pp. 242, 245 & 253-7, nos 231, 234, & 242-6.
Referenced:
HAR - himalayanart.org/items/33012
Exhibited:
Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge, MA 2002—2008
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA 2008—2015
Provenance:
Private West Coast Collection, acquired 1980s
Collection FKH, USA
Saleroom notices
This lot is being sold as 12th century or later, and not as circa 12th century as described in the catalog. Please note that scholarly opinions on Tibetan Pala-style bronzes are divided, and some would contend that this bronze was produced as late as the 18th century.
請註意：此拍品以"十二世紀或以後"的斷代出售，而並非圖錄所述的"約十二世紀"。對於西藏帕拉風格的銅造像，學術界持分歧意見，部分認為此拍品的制造年代可晚至十八世紀。