Footnotes

This heavily cast and commanding sculpture's size, efficient means of production, and style all indicate the flowering of Buddhist art under the Qianlong Emperor (r.1735-95) as imperial workshops in Beijing and Inner Mongolia ramped up production to accommodate his expansion of Tibetan Buddhist temples throughout the border regions of the empire.

At least four other examples from the same atelier are known, two of which are held in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg and the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. (See Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, London, 1991, p.321, no.126; and HAR item no.35846, respectively.) A third is formerly of the Da Silva and Ford Collections, and is published in Pal, American Collectors of Asian Art, Bombay, 1986, p.200, pl.14. And a fourth was sold at Christie's, Paris, 8 June 2010, lot 349. Some of these survive with their bases, which are all congruent with production under Qing hegemony. Examples such as an Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara in the Norbulinkha Collection also mirror a similar execution of facial features and limbs (Yang, Treasures from Snow Mountains, Shanghai, 2001, pp.104-5, no.34).

Symbolized by her thousand feet, arms, and faces, Sitatapatra is a supreme deity, conflating all Buddhist gods and powers. Extending in every direction, she tramples all obstacles for the individual and the nation, preventing misfortune, pestilence, and war.

Examples of Sitatapatra can be found throughout some of Beijing's most important Buddhist centers, such as Yonghegong and Beihai Park. She was promoted from relative obscurity as a protector goddess by the Fifth Dalai Lama (r.1642-82) and subsequently the Qianlong Emperor (r.1735-96) – two rulers who strove to control dramatically larger amounts of territory than their predecessors. Her limitless reach and ultimacy is a subtle reminder of their own great power.

Published
Deborah Ashencaen and ‎Gennady Leonov, The Mirror of Mind: Art of Vajrayana Buddhism, Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1995, no.29.

Provenance
The Kemper Collection of Himalayan Art, Germany
Christie's, Amsterdam, 11 October 1994, lot 256
Spink & Son Ltd, London, June 1995
Private European Collection, acquired from the above


銅鎏金大白傘蓋佛母像
乾隆時期（1735-1795）
像身由鑄造而成，經裝臟開光，兩側之千手扇狀結構由錘疊而成，以榫固定於像身背部。
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網34213號
高48.5釐米（19 1/8英吋）

1,600,000-2,000,000港元

乾隆帝（1735-95年在位）重視佛教，在邊境地區興建藏傳佛教寺院，其在北京和內蒙的御用造辦處亦因此大肆提高產量。此尊造像敦實有力，氣勢凜然，其尺寸、鑄造方式及風格樣式皆體現出乾隆時期佛教藝術的蓬勃發展。

另有四尊已知造像與本拍品出自同一作坊，其中兩尊藏於聖彼得堡的國家隱士廬博物館和牛津的皮特河博物館。（分別參見Rhie與Thurman，Wisdom and Compassion倫敦，1991年，頁321，126號；以及喜馬拉雅藝術資源網35846號。）第三尊為Da Silva與Ford舊藏，刊載於Pal，American Collectors of Asian Art，孟買，1986年，頁200，版圖14。第四尊於2010年6月8日售於佳士得巴黎，拍品349號。這些造像中部分保有底座，底座風格與其他清代造像風格相符。另有一些可比造像連面部特徵與四肢的製作也極其相似，比如藏於羅布林卡的十一面觀音像（Yang，Treasures from Snow Mountains，上海，2001年，頁104-5，34號）。

大白傘蓋佛母法力無量，其千足、千手、千面象徵其為诸佛事业之化身佛。她能摧毁一切邪巫诅咒，退避一切横灾戰亂，消除一切杂症恶疾。

在北京各大佛教中心皆可見大白傘蓋佛母之形象，比如雍和宮及北海。五世達賴喇嘛（1642-82年在位）及後來的乾隆帝皆大力推崇大白傘蓋佛母，鞏固其護法地位。這兩位統治者皆以領土及權勢之擴張為首要重任，而大白傘蓋佛母之無量法力恰恰喻指了當權者之強大勢力。

著錄
Deborah Ashencaen與‎Gennady Leonov，The Mirror of Mind: Art of Vajrayana Buddhism，Spink & Son Ltd，倫敦，1995年，29號。

來源
Kemper喜馬拉雅藝術珍藏，德國
佳士得，阿姆斯特丹，1994年10月11日，拍品256號
Spink & Son Ltd，倫敦，1995年6月
歐洲私人珍藏，購自上述拍賣