A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VAISHRAVANA TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VAISHRAVANA
TIBET, 15TH CENTURY
Tibetan inscription along the lotus base, translated:
"The statue of the great unchanging king Vaishravana
Was made in order to purify the obscurations of [the donor's] parents,
The accumulated merits [being] dedicated to all sentient beings to quickly attain the stage of Buddha[hood],
And may [they] bring glory and prosperity to the donor.
Auspicious!''
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 2806
19.3 cm (7 5/8 in.) high
Published
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds.), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, pp. 462-3, no. 204.

Exhibited
Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 — 19 February 2017.

Provenance
Acquired in Hong Kong, 2007

銅鎏金北方多聞天王像
西藏 十五世紀
蓮花底座下緣刻藏文銘文，意為：
「此摩訶不動多聞天王之造像，
為淨除[施主]父母障礙所鑄造，
所積福德回向一切有情速證佛果，
並願加持施主福祿綿長。
吉祥如意！」

著錄
Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha：2000 Years of Buddhist Art，232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁462-3，編號204

展覽
「 Buddha：2000 Years of Buddhist Art，232 Masterpieces 」，弗爾克林根，2016年6月24日至2017年2月19日

來源
2007年入藏於香港

Vaishravana, the Guardian of the North and God of Wealth, is cast here as a stout warrior mounted on a fierce lion. In his left hand, he cradles a pudgy, jewel-dispensing mongoose. From behind, we see the magical creature whimsically portrayed, struggling to find purchase for his hind leg as a superabundance of riches pours out from his throat. Vaishravana sports a robust mustache. The raised counters of his face and furrowed brow make his alert gaze more pronounced. He wears a full set of glistening armor and fur boots, underscoring his invincibility as a guardian. Large Y-shaped interlocking plates span his torso. Each element is proportioned slightly differently, as if stretched by his rounded belly, emphasizing the figure's dramatic volume. Such intricate designs are typically found only on the finest thangkas. A silk-like sash flutters at each elbow, incised with floral patterns, adding yet more dynamism to the seated figure. The snow lion turns its head upward, formidable but also attentive to its master. Wide, plump lotus petals anchor them both. The inner layer bears frilled tips. The outer layer terminates with sharp points. Vaishravana's dual identity as a Dharma protector and wealth bestower establishes him as the most prominent of the Four Heavenly Guardian Kings, characteristics conveyed by this impeccable sculpture's blend of opulence and unassailable affect. A comparable example was exhibited at Beijing Capital Museum in 2013 (see Yixi ed., The Art of Buddhist Sculpture, 2013, pp. 164-5).

While the deity's origins can be traced back to India, where pot-bellied wealth gods and princely directional guardians are bare-chested and lightly clad, the present representation of Vaishravana derives from Central Asian and Chinese iconography. In Khotan, Vaishravana enjoyed dynastic worship as the oasis-kingdom's guardian by the 7th century (Snellgrove, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, 2004, p. 334). From there, via Dunhuang, he became an important Mahayana protector throughout the Himalayas and China. During the Tang era (618-907 CE), Vaishravana shed the attire of Indian nobility in favor of armor and boots, appearing as a general offering military protection widely depicted on war banners and entrances. This martial depiction persisted, frequently appearing in temple murals and thangkas, standing or seated alongside Shakyamuni Buddha and the Sixteen Elders. Another popular iconographic form, from which the present lot derives, shows Vaishravana riding a lion surrounded by his entourage of the Eight Lords of the Horses (ashvapati), each holding a ritual object and a mongoose symbolic of their prosperous nature. The leader of the Heavenly Kings, Vaishravana's ability to provide safety and sustenance for Buddhism's followers makes him one of the religion's most favored deities.

In the Himalayas, Shalu monastery popularized Vaishravana as its tutelary deity and probably provided the locus for his martial representation taking hold in Tibet. An early-14th-century painted wall mural at Shalu (HAR 51511) depicts Vaishravana with his Eight Horsemen, showing the king in a similarly styled costume and ruyi hat as the present sculpture. A Sakya thangka of Vaishravana from the early 15th century, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (fig. 1; 2021.290) also wears a ruyi hat and Y-shaped armor plating across the belly.

Another splendid and closely related gilt bronze figure of Vaishravana was recently exhibited in Taipei (see Kao ed., Endless Fortune: The Deities of Wealth and the Glamour of Mongolian and Tibetan Living Art, 2023, p. 44). This Taipei bronze and the current example are notable for the sheer amount of treasure spilling from the mongoose's mouth. Several Chinese ingots are distinctly formed and arranged in the bountiful stream. A large gilt bronze of Shri Devi, formerly in the Speelman collection and possibly cast by the 15th-century master artist Sonam Gyalsten, likewise shows these distinctive ingots (figs. 2a & b; sold at Bonhams, Paris, 11 June 2024, lot 23). However, absent from the Shri Devi are several conches included in the present sculpture's outpouring. This auspicious object, able to sonically purify space when blown, is less commonly seen in Vaishravana depictions. However, a 15th-century figure of Purnabhadra, who is among Vaishravana's Eight Horsemen, also depicts a mongoose of similar proportions spewing a conch as well as ingots. This Purnabhadra, now held in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2001-44-1), is also likely to have been made by Sonam Gyaltsen (or his workshop), who is known to have been commissioned by the Sakya order in c. 1430. (For more information, see Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033.) Therefore, given these likenesses and the deity's relevance to the order, it is likely the present Vaishravana was also commissioned in the Tsang region of Central Tibet for the Sakya, whose refined gilded sculpture of the 15th century remains some of the best ever made in Tibetan history.

多聞天王守護著北方，亦是財富之神，此造像呈現其如一位壯碩武士，端坐於威猛獅子之上。天王左手托抱一隻豐滿的吐寶神鼬，從其後方可見藝術家對這隻神獸趣味橫生的描繪——它彷彿奮力穩住後腿，而無盡的財寶從其口中湧出。多聞天王鬍鬚濃密、面頰高聳、眉頭緊鎖，突顯其警覺的目光炯炯有神。他身披閃耀鎧甲、腳穿毛靴，彰顯其作為守護神所向披靡。寬大的Y字形鎖甲交錯覆蓋其身，細微處各有比例變化，仿佛被其渾圓的肚腹撐拉開來，進一步烘托著人物的戲劇張力，而這種精巧的鎧甲設計通常僅見於最精美的唐卡作品。其雙肘處絲帶向上翻飛，雖為小節卻依然刻有花卉圖案，為這尊坐像增添更多動感。雪獅仰頭注視主人，威嚴而又忠誠。寬大飽滿的蓮瓣構成其基座，內層蓮瓣末端呈波狀起伏，外層蓮瓣尖端銳利有致。多聞天王作為佛教護法與財神的雙重身份，使其成為四天王中最廣為人知的一位。此尊造像將其富饒華麗與堅不可摧的形象完美結合，為其持世與賜福雙重面向無與倫比的概括。一尊與之相似的作品曾於2013年在北京首都博物館展出（見一西主編，《佛韻：造像藝術集粹》，2013年，頁164-165）。

多聞天王的起源可以追溯至古老的印度，在那裡，象徵財富的神祇與皇家貴冑的守護天王通常身材豐滿、袒露胸膛、輕紗薄衣。而這尊多聞天王的形象則更見中亞與漢地藝術風格的影響。早在公元七世紀，多聞天王就作為于闐的守護神，受這座綠洲王國王族世代供奉（見Snellgrove，《Indo-Tibetan Buddhism》，2004年，頁334）。從這裡經由敦煌，多聞天王成為廣闊的喜馬拉雅地區與中原王朝裡至關重要的大乘佛教護法。在唐代（公元618-907年），多聞天王褪下印度貴族裝束，著起盔甲、足蹬戰靴，以護衛軍隊戰無不勝的將軍形象出現在旌旗上與壁壘城門。這種戰神形象延續至後世，頻繁出現於寺廟壁畫與唐卡中，或站立、或坐於釋迦牟尼佛與十六羅漢身旁。多聞天王另一廣受青睞之形象、亦正是此尊造像所循之傳統，則為多聞天王以騎獅姿態出現，周圍環繞其眷屬八駿財神，他們各持法器與神鼬，象徵其豐饒富足之特質。作為眾天王之首，多聞天王賜予虔誠的信眾們平安與富足，使其成為最受崇敬的宗教神祇之一。

在喜馬拉雅地區，夏魯寺視多聞天王為本寺護法神，令其形象風靡，並可能實為天王將軍形象於藏地流行之起源地。夏魯寺一鋪十四世紀早期壁畫（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網51511號）描繪多聞天王與八駿財神，展現與此尊造像相似的著裝及如意寶冠。現藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館一幅十五世紀早期薩迦派多聞天王唐卡（圖1；館藏編號2021.290）同樣佩戴如意寶冠，身穿Y字形盔甲。

另一尊與之密切相關的精美銅鎏金多聞天王像近期在台北展出（見高玉珍主編，《好運連連——財神與蒙藏生活藝術之美》，2023年，頁44）。這尊台北展出的銅像與此尊造像具有同一特點，即神鼬口中湧出的寶物數量屬實驚人，其中有多枚顯眼的漢地元寶，層次分明地排列在財寶瀑流之中。曾屬Speelman珍藏的一尊大型吉祥天母造像，可能為十五世紀藝術大師索南堅贊鑄造，亦帶有類似的獨特元寶（圖2a及2b；邦瀚斯，巴黎，2024年6月11日，拍品23）。但此尊多聞天王像與吉祥天母像之不同在於天王像更有幾枚海螺流出。海螺為吉祥法器，吹奏時的聲音能淨化空間，但在多聞天王的描繪中較為少見。然而，在一尊多聞天王眷屬八駿財神之一——滿賢財神之十五世紀造像之上，神鼬口中同樣鮮見地吐出相似海螺與元寶。這尊滿賢財神造像現藏於費城藝術博物館（館藏編號2001-44-1），或許亦出自索南堅贊（或其工坊）之手。索南堅贊於1430年前後為薩迦派進行諸多藝術創造（詳細論述可參考一尊觀音立像之文章，邦瀚斯，紐約，2018年3月19日，拍品3033）。因此，鑒於上述相似之處以及此神祇與薩迦派之緊密關聯，基本可以推測此尊多聞天王造像亦是由藏地中部衛藏地區薩迦派委託而製作，他們所創造的十五世紀精美的鎏金造像堪稱藏地歷史上最非凡的造像群之一。

For the figures listed in this essay, please refer to our printed or digital catalogue.
關於文中所提及之參考圖，請參閱此場拍賣之電子或紙質圖錄。