Footnotes

印度東北部 帕拉時期 十二世紀 蓮華手觀音銅像

This languorous depiction of Padmapani in the posture of royal ease originates from eastern India during the Pala period (8th-12th centuries). Characterized by gentle curves and modelled limbs, the nimble form with the wrist resting on the knee bears no tension. The ornamentation molds along the lines of the body in a manner that balances the plasticity of the skin with the decorative details achieving an overall simplicity that recalls the earliest Pala idioms from the 9th century. For the most ubiquitous of deities represented during the Pala period, the deity of infinite compassion in his peaceful manner framed between rising lotus flowers portrays a gentle candor.

Buddhism flourished in Northeastern India during the Pala dynasty (8th-12th century), and the golden age of artistic production which ensued set a precedent for the depiction of Buddhist subjects in Nepal, Tibet, and China for centuries. The languid and pliable form presented with a mannered naturalism, the flanking lotus petals rising around the arms, and the wide lotus petals with large, beaded rims along the base are idiomatic of the style, as seen in several other bronzes including a Maitreya sold at Christie's, New York, 14 March 2016, lot 287.

While the main trends of the Pala style are comparable, regional styles developed their own individual features, and differences are evident when comparing a 12th century Maitreya from Fatephur (Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, New York, 1984, no. 18.20), whose flattened flanking blossoms of the lotus flowers contrast the fuller flowers on this Padmapani. Relating more congruently with styles coming from Kurkihar in the modelling of the figure, the design of the festooned necklace and the heavy-lidded eyes, this Padmapani shows similarities with an earlier 10th century Simhananda Lokeshvara from the region (Ray, Eastern Indian Bronzes, 1986, pl. 176).

The traces of blue pigment in the hair and the cold gold on the face indicate that this bronze likely made its way into Tibet, bearing the indications of preferred stylistic choices of the region. It is the transportability of these bronzes that carried the Pala art throughout Asia, impacting styles in Inner Asia, including another Nepalese bronze which adopted elements of the posture and form, as seen in this Maitreya (HAR 57205).

Provenance:
Karen Beagle Collection, Hong Kong