STATUETTE D'ACHALA EN LAITON TIBET, XIIIE SIÈCLE

STATUETTE D'ACHALA EN LAITON
TIBET, XIIIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1810
27.3 cm (10 3/4 in.) high
A BRASS FIGURE OF ACHALA
TIBET, 13TH CENTURY

Published
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 379, no. 162.

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

Achala, 'the Immovable One', is a meditational deity (yidam) tasked with holding the sacred ground of a mandala and deterring negative phenomena as the 'Remover of Obstacles'. In Hinduism, this role is reserved for the elephant-headed god Ganesha, who is presently being depicted as the 'Creator of Obstacles' instead, subdued under Achala's feet.

This form of Achala was popularized by Atisha (982-1054), the founder of the Kadampa school, and Sonam Tsemo (1142-82) of the Sakya order, as a central purification practice. In his right hand, Achala brandishes a sword above his head, poised to slash through the veil of ignorance shrouding the practitioner's mind. In his left, he points his index finger in the gesture of 'warning' (tarjani mudra) while holding a vajra lasso in order to ensnare corrupting forces. For further discussion of Achala within the Buddhist pantheon, see Linrothe, Ruthless Compassion, 1999, pp. 151-3.

Retaining a warm patina from centuries of devotion and handling, the crisp details of this sculpture adapt earlier Indian styles that influenced the nascent artistic traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. During the 10th-12th centuries, in a period known as the Chidar, generations of Tibetan monks gathered and translated Indian devotional texts and icons. They considered paintings and sculpture from Buddhism's homeland prized religious objects, purer and more potent. Numerous examples are preserved in temple collections in Lhasa, including two Achala figures of similar modeling, who analogously trample animated and full-bodied renderings of Ganesha underfoot (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, 2001, p. 1113, nos. 291B & D-E). Another example worthy of comparison is published in Essen & Thingo, Die Gotter des Himalaya, 1989, p. 160, fig. I-98. Lastly is a brass figure of Jambhala from the Nyingjei Lam Collection, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 7 October 2019, lot 806 (Fig. 1), whose patina and piercing gaze share a close resemblance with the present work.

For the figures listed in this essay, please refer to our printed or digital catalogue.

不動明王銅像
西藏 十三世紀

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379，編號162

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

不動明王為一尊重要觀想本尊，使命為鎮守曼陀羅聖地，抵抗消極力量，為業障消除者。在印度教，此角色是由象神迦納什擔任。然而，在此佛教造像之中，象神被視為業障之創造者而被踏於不動明王腳下。

此不動明王的特殊形象因噶當巴派創始人阿底峽（982-1054）和薩迦派的洛本索南孜摩（1142-82）之推崇而流行，其對事部修行至關重要。明王右手舉劍過頭，準備劃破籠罩修行者心靈的無知與幻覺的面紗。左手則豎起食指降魔，結期克印，同時手握金剛索，以誘捉邪惡力量。有關不動明王及其在佛教萬神殿中之角色，更多討論可參見 Lindrothe，《Ruthless Compassion》，1999年，頁151-3。

數百年的虔誠供奉與傳承，給予了這尊雕像溫潤明亮的包漿。整體清晰的細節，向早期印度風格致敬，正是這些風格影響了萌芽時期的西藏藝術傳統。在十至十二世紀的這段又被稱為後弘期的年代裡，一代又一代的西藏僧侶收集並翻譯著印度宗教文字與典籍。他們視來自佛教發源地的印度繪畫以及雕塑為珍品、一種更純淨、更有效的宗教形式。拉薩寺廟收藏中保存諸多例證，例如另外兩尊造型相似的造像，同樣有力地踩踏栩栩如生的象神全身像（見von Schroeder，《Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet》，卷二，2001年，頁1113， 編號291B、D-E）。 另一值得比較的例子刊於Essen 及 Thingo 著之《Die Gotter des Himalaya》，1989年，頁160，圖I-98。菩薩道所藏一尊黃財神銅像之銅質以及銳利的眼神亦與本不動明王像極為相似，見邦瀚斯，香港，2019年10月7日，拍品806（圖1）。

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。