Footnotes

A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRADHARA
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY

西藏 十六世紀 銅鎏金金剛總持像

Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s

Vajradhara is regarded by the New (Sarma) Schools as the Primordial Buddha (Adi Buddha): the inner form of Shakyamuni, as well as the progenitor of the Vajrayana Buddhist system. He occupies the first rank in the Buddhist pantheon, and typically features as the first teacher of a tantric lineage. He represents the highest state of enlightenment, its abstract perfection, and the sum of all Buddhist teachings. Vajradhara is therefore represented in sculptural form with a 'reward body' (sambhogakaya), replete with a supple physique and sumptuous ornamentation, conveying to practitioners the bliss of experiencing the dharma for oneself. He emphasizes this ultimate goal of Vajrayana Buddhism by crossing his hands in vajrahumkara mudra, which in turn materializes forth the ghanta and vajra sprouting by his shoulders. This gesture signifies that when wisdom and compassion join in perfect union, one can also attain Vajradhara's true state of existence known as dharmakaya.

The heavy silks adorning Vajradhara's back, the rippling dhoti spilling onto the lotus base, and the scarf gently cascading around his shoulders are reminiscent of the Chinese Buddhist bronzes that were transmitted into Tibet around the first half of the 15th century. Two similar images from the Yongle period (1403-24), both of which similarly evoke gentle movement as they sway their hip to one side, are published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, 2001, pp. 1252 & 1283, nos. 344A-B & 359B. The separate casting of the gilt bronze into three parts – one for the figure itself and two for the lotus base – possibly suggests its creation by a Newari artist. The floral roundels inset with turquoise that make up Vajradhara's jewelry, on the other hand, indicate the patron to be Tibetan, with comparisons to Tibetan images emulating the early Ming style in ibid, p. 1253, no. 344C, and, Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, 1992, p. 86, pl. 58). Also see an image of Vajradhara with a similar crown type and lotus base in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 439, no. 117F.