A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF TARATIBET, 12TH/13TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16704
23 cm (9 in.) high注脚This intricate and elegantly proportioned figure of Tara is a refined example of an early Tibetan bronze that is modelled after the Pala sculptural tradition of 11th- to 12th-century Northeastern India. The lightly engraved diaphanous scarf across the figure's chest, and the delicate inlaid patterning of her lower garment, reproduce Indian attire exhibited by Pala models such as an 11th-century bronze of the same subject that was brought to Tibet in antiquity (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.240-1, no.73B-C). The blue lilies (utpala) by each shoulder, the lotus leaves of each base, and the two sculpture's single-leafed tiaras are almost identical. Their close stylistic relationship bespeaks the religious and artistic exchange between the Himalayas and Buddhism's homeland, and suggests the present bronze likely dates to, or not long after, the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet ending in the 12th century.

Another sumptuously inlaid Tara, although much smaller, belongs to the same stylistic group as the present lot (Grewenig & Rist (eds.), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, Völklingen, 2016, pp.112-3, no.31). These two share the same heavy-lidded gaze enlivened by silver inlay to convey the bodhisattva's enlightened consciousness. Likewise, her faint smile is also embellished with copper inlay. Clear similarities also extend to the structure of each's base with three even steps below the prominent lotus petals.

Other early Tibetan bronzes of Tara drawn from Pala sculpture include an example in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (C2003.11.1; The Rubin Museum of Art, Collection Highlights, New York, 2014, pp.150-1), and another sold at Koller, Zurich, 13 June 2017, lot 118.


錯銀錯紅銅度母銅像
西藏，十二或十三世紀
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網16704號
高23釐米（9英吋）

800,000-1,000,000港幣

此尊度母像做工精美，造型優雅，為早期西藏借鑒帕拉王朝十一與十二世紀間藝術風格之典範。度母胸前斜挎一條帶有淺刻花紋的輕薄柔軟的帔帛，下身衣裙上綴滿紅銅與銀鑲嵌的斑斕圖案，兩者皆再現了帕拉造像所展現的印度衣著風格，例如一尊十一世紀帕拉度母銅像（參見馮·施羅德著《西藏佛教造像》，香港，2001年，頁240-1，編號73B-C）。兩尊造像肩上之蓮花、底座之蓮瓣以及頭上所戴單葉寶冠皆如出一轍，為喜馬拉雅地區與佛教發源地間宗教與藝術交流之佐證，同時亦表明本拍品之年代應與佛教第二次傳入西藏之時間（止於十二世紀）吻合或在其後不久。

另一帶有華麗鑲嵌之綠度母像儘管體量稍小，卻在風格上與本拍品同屬一類（見Grewenig與Rist編，《Buddha：2000 Years of Buddhist Art》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁112-3，編號31）。二者皆眼幕低垂，雙目錯銀，呈現度母開悟證道之神采，嘴唇以紅銅呈現柔和微笑，面容慈悲超脫。此外，兩尊造像亦配有相似的底座，由兩排醒目的蓮瓣與其下勻稱的三層階梯構成。

魯賓藝術博物館藏有一件承襲帕拉風格之西藏早期度母像（編號C2003.11.1）可資比較，著錄於該博物館出版之《Collection Highlights》，紐約，2014年，頁150-1。蘇黎世的闊樂拍賣（Koller）曾於2017年6月13日拍出一尊相似造像（拍品118），亦可參考。