Footnotes

Provenance:
Property of a Lady.
Acquired between 2000 and 2005 from Studio Arga, Venice.

尼泊爾 卡薩馬拉 約十四世紀 銅鎏金釋迦牟尼像

來源
女士藏品
於2000年至2005年間得自威尼斯藝廊Studio Arga

The present figure displays several stylistic features that allow us to attribute it to the workshops of the Khasa Malla Kingdom. With its broad rounded shoulders and fleshy torso, the figure appears quite compact, slightly heavyset with robust almost sturdy physical features, an element that appears in other examples of Shakyamuni Buddhas made in the Khasa Malla workshops, see, for example, a gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, sold in Bonhams Hong Kong, 21 April 2021, lot 20. The physiognomy of his face is defined by wide-set open eyes, set below long, slightly arched brows and a cusped mouth. The treatment of the Buddha's robe also shows two distinctive features more commonly found in Khasa Malla sculptures. The first being the fishtail-shaped sash draped over his left shoulder, the second the rice-grain pattern incised on the hemlines of the robe. The broad lotus base with its unfinished-looking rear that still retains some of the matte red pigment is another feature that indicates that it was worshipped in the Khasa Malla Kingdom. Compare with a figure of Buddha, sold in Bonhams Paris, 13 June 2023, lot 35.

Between the 12th and 14th century, the ruling family of the Khasa Mallas reigned over a territory that included large parts of present-day western Nepal and western Tibet. Devout Buddhists, the Khasa Malla rulers were great patrons of the arts. The metal-working tradition that evolved under their patronage shows the strong influence of artists and artistic traditions from Western Tibet, Pala India and the Kathmandu valley, reflecting the syncretic religions and cultures within the Khasa Malla kingdom.