Footnotes

銅鎏金釋迦牟尼像
西藏 十五/十六世紀

This gilded Buddha survives in immaculate condition from a highly refined artistic period in Tibet, between the 15th and 16th centuries. The Buddha's tender expression is marked with large, doubled-eyelids beneath a slightly dipped brow that bears a central rounded urna. The Buddha's smile is delightful; modeled in high-relief, the corners of his lips are playfully upturned. His neck is marked with three concentric lines reminiscent of the beauty of a conch shell, as per iconographic prescriptions in early Buddhist scripture. The webbed-hands are cast with naturalism. The form-fitting patchwork robe is chased with fine patterns. The artist has achieved his harmonious image with consummate attention to detail.

Stylistically, good points of comparison for the bronze are 15th-century gilded sculptures of Akshobhya and Shakyamuni in the Museum Rietberg and the Rubin Museum of Art, respectively (Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zurich, 1995, p.72, no.30; HAR 700092). Also, the manner in which the tips of the robe spill over the base's front is a pleasing feature occasionally seen in 15th-century sculpture and painting, such as a thangka of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and Muchen Sempa Chenpo at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (HAR 85729). Lastly, the shape of the bronze's lotus petals and the patterning of its footrim are redolent of a sculptural tradition associated with a 15th-century master artist named Sonam Gyaltsen, who was active in Shigatse, Central Tibet around 1430 (cf. HAR 8713, 16792, 57269 & 57275)

Provenance
Private Swiss Collection before 1990
Michael Henss, Zurich, 2015
Swiss Private Collection