STATUETTE DE TSANGNYON HERUKA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE TIBET CENTRAL,...

STATUETTE DE TSANGNYON HERUKA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE
TIBET CENTRAL, PROVINCE DE TSANG, FIN DU XVE/XVIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 31441
41 cm (16 1/8 in.) high
A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF TSANGNYON HERUKA
CENTRAL TIBET, TSANG PROVINCE, LATE 15TH/16TH CENTURY

Published
Marylin Rhie & Robert Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Expanded Edition, 2000, New York, p. 443, no. 196 (67a).
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 451, no. 198.

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

This is one of the largest bronze sculptures of Tsangnyon Heruka (1452-1507), perhaps second only to a repoussé figure in the Pritzker Collection (HAR 58303). Guised as a mahasiddha, the 'Madman of Tsang' wears a tiger-skin apron and a cross-belt fashioned from bones. Notably, he resembles the preeminent mahasiddha, Virupa (8th-9th century), who is often shown with an elaborate topknot, a skull cup, and a raised right arm. Present iconography that distinguishes Tsangnyon Heruka from Virupa here include a Buddha within the central leaf of his crown, a corpulent deity located at the center of his cross-belt, a vajra formerly held in his right hand, and the absence of a flower sash or a sutra wedged in his hair. To the lower edge of this sculpture's base is added a vajra with fluttering ribbons and a pair crouching snow lions.

Originally an ordained follower of the Kagyu tradition, Tsangnyon Heruka abandoned monasticism to pursue the tantric life, garnering the epithet, the 'Madman of Tsang'. Inspired by early Indian texts and the mahasiddhas, he inhabited burial grounds, wearing and even eating what he found there. Despite his unusual behavior, Tsangnyon Heruka attracted numerous disciples as he travelled through Tibet and Nepal in the poet-saint Milarepa's (1052-1135) footsteps. He is one of Tibet's most celebrated authors, being among the first to have his works printed with woodblocks, funding and developing the technology which would have a profound effect on Tibetan culture. Tsangnyon Heruka's most famous writings include the biographies of Milarepa and Marpa (1012-97). He inspired a rich biographical tradition within the Kagyu, to which his pupils added those of Tilopa (988-1069), Naropa (956-1040) and Rechungpa (1084-1161).

Cast with piercing eyes and an immense stomach, this powerful sculpture was crafted in the non-gilt workshops of Tsang, the same province in Central Tibet where Tsangnyon Heruka was from. The style of the necklace and densely packed lotus pedestal are reminiscent of imperial Chinese bronzes gifted to prominent Tsang monasteries, such as a large Yongle Virupa now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (fig. 1; 1972.96). A similar sized Tibetan gilt bronze of Naropa from the 15th/16th century is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2001.45). Lastly, compare two smaller Tsang examples, one of Virupa in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (HAR 65219) and another of Tsangnyon Heruka in private hands (HAR 12755).

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

藏紐赫魯加銅像
藏中 十五世紀晚期/十六世紀

著錄
Marylin M. Rhie 及 Robert A. F. Thurman，《Wisdom and Compassion：The Sacred Art of Tibet》，2000年，紐約，頁480，編號196（67a）
Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha：2000 Years of Buddhist Art，232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁451，編號198

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

此尊威武的藏紐赫魯加（1452-1507）銅像為此題材目前已知最為龐大的銅像之一，或許僅次於普利茲克收藏中的一尊錘揲像（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網58303號）。這位「藏地狂人」身著虎皮裙，系骨製交叉飾帶，現身為大成就者之形象。值得注意的是，其貌酷似傑出的成就者毘魯巴（八至九世紀）。毘魯巴常梳精致發髻，手持嘎巴拉碗，右臂上舉。此尊藏紐赫魯加像區別於毘魯巴的特征則包括：寶冠中央葉飾上見化佛、交叉飾帶中央亦有一尊富態的小型神像、右手原應所持一金剛杵，以及頭髮中無花飾或經書。其底座下緣增加一把飾以飄帶的金剛杵，以及一對蹲伏的雪獅。

藏紐赫魯加本是噶舉派的受戒弟子，後因追求密宗生活而放棄修道，被稱為「藏地狂人」。受早期印度典籍與大成就者的啟發，他居於墓地，穿戴甚至食用他於此處所覓得之物。盡管行為瘋癲異常，藏紐赫魯加追隨詩歌聖人密勒日巴（1040-1123）的腳步遊歷西藏與尼泊爾，仍然吸引著無數信徒。他是西藏最負盛名的寫作者之一，作爲第一批使用木版印刷術印其著作的人，其資助並發展這項技術，無疑對西藏文化產生了深遠影響。藏紐赫魯加的最著名之作包括為密勒日巴以及瑪爾巴（1012-97）所作之傳記。其引發了噶舉派內蓬勃而豐富的傳記傳統，其弟子又為帝洛巴（988-1069）、那洛巴（956-1040）以及熱瓊巴（1084-1161）立傳著書。

此造像雙目犀利、大腹便便，由後藏採用非鎏金工藝之工坊所製，而位於西藏中部的這個地區正是藏紐赫魯加的故鄉。項鏈的風格和緊密排列的蓮花花瓣令人聯想到彼時中國朝廷贈送給西藏顯赫寺院的銅像，例如現藏於克利夫蘭藝術博物館的一件大型永樂毘魯巴像（圖1，1972.96）。洛杉磯郡立藝術博物館則收藏一尊十五或十六世紀之銅鎏金那洛巴像（M.2001.45）。最後，此拍品亦可與兩件較小的後藏作品進行比較，一件是紐約魯賓藝術博物館所藏毘魯巴像（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網65219號），另一件為私人收藏之藏紐赫魯加像（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網12755號）。

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。