Footnotes

西藏 十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金蓮花生大士像

Like many hagiographies of Buddhist saints, the life of the 8th-century master Padmasambhava is clad in myth and mystery. Often referred to as the 'Second Buddha,' his legend, which is compiled of layers of overlapping legends, often tells of his miraculous birth from a lotus in Lake Danokosha in Oddiyana, in present day Swat Valley. Facial features, attributes, and clothing are instantly recognizable as the Great Guru is presented here more as a mythical figure rather than an accurate portrayal. The styling of the cap with the flaps lifted and surmounted by an erect feather, as well as the attributes of vajra, bowl, ritual staff, and cloud-motif lappets instantly identify the legendary teacher in this most common form as shared by other bronzes including a 15th century image illustrated in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 449, no. 122C. Like all Tibetan portraits, his likeness was meant to promote his divine power, especially as the forefather of the Nyingma lineage, the oldest of Buddhist schools in Tibet.

While stories account of his magical powers and legendary spiritual accomplishments, textual sources and images to support his life story were added and enriched just before the 14th century. Bronze casts of his portrayal began appearing more commonly during the 15th century, particularly in the Central Tibet where a prospering religious and artistic renaissance was underway. Various schools, along with local kings and neighboring countries like China, were participating in this religious revival which led to huge productions of art, but was also shadowed by doctrinal differences and polemic attacks amongst Buddhist schools vying for power both within and outside of Tibet. Endorsing the making of Padmasambhava's image would have signified in some regard support for the Nyingma order and older Buddhist traditions within Tibet.

It would be impossible to say how or if this political dialectic translated directly into the style of this bronze. What is indicated though in the choices of Padmasambhava's portrayal is a syncretic approach which blends the older models of representing Buddhist art from its Indic routes with the growing religious powers within Tibet and coming from the Ming emperors in China. The wide petals of the lotus base and inlaid jewels speaks of Pala and Nepalese designs favored and repeated for centuries in Tibet. The stippling of the hemline on the robes, which is also illustrated in another period bronze of Padmasambhava sold at Sotheby's, New York, 20 September 2002, lot 74, is idiomatic of motifs used within Central Tibet at the time. The pleated folds of the robes of the left elbow and rounded folds across the legs reference an imperial Ming style as illustrated in both textiles (see Bonhams, Hong Kong, 29 November 2016, lot 123) and bronzes (see Zangchuan Fojiao Zaoxiang, Hong Kong, 1992, p. 223, no. 212) and for which other Central Tibetan bronzes of the time also adopted (see an example sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 29 November 2016, lot 124).

Provenance:
Lauritz Sunde, Galleri Etnografica, Copenhagen, 1965
Private Danish Collection
Thence by descent