STATUETTE DE VIRUPA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ ATTRIBUÉE À...

STATUETTE DE VIRUPA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ
ATTRIBUÉE À SONAM GYALTSEN (A. XVE SIÈCLE), TIBET CENTRAL, VERS 1430-50
A Tibetan inscription around the rim of the base: ན་མ་ཤྲི་བིརྦ་པ་ཡ།
Translated: "Homage to Sri Virupaya!"
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1819
14.6 cm (5 3/4 in.) high
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VIRUPA
ATTRIBUTED TO SONAM GYALTSEN (A. 15TH CENTURY), CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 1430-50

Published
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 426, no. 186.

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

This Tibetan sculpture pays homage to one of the great luminaries of Indian Buddhism, the 9th-century Buddhist master, Virupa. Like other mahasiddhas (great adepts) of the medieval period, Virupa spent years in formal Buddhist training before withdrawing from monastic life to follow his own path. He is credited with a hyper-efficient meditative practice known aslamdre("the Path with the Result"), which was later introduced to Tibet by the Indian teacher Gayadhara (d. 1103) and became a central tantric tradition within the Sakya school. Formerly an abbot of Nalanda, Virupa received the 'Path', which is based mainly on theHevajra Tantra, from the deity Vajra Nairatmya after giving up on decades of unsuccessful attempts at the Chakrasamvara Tantra. His subsequent rituals cost him his affiliation, as other members of the monastic hierarchy frowned upon his use of meat and alcohol. Banished from Nalanda, he wandered as a yogin performing a number of miracles.

No other mahasiddha is so well-developed in terms of varied appearance. In this 15th-century work, the saint holds his hands in the 'teaching gesture', a mimetic mudra in reference to the Buddha's first teaching at Deer Park. He sits on a lotus seat covered with an antelope skin, customary in portraits of the great siddhas. Full bodied, with a gana-like affect, his figure and wide-eyed gaze relates to two other portraits, one published in Heller, Tibetan Art, 1999, p. 164, no. 89 and another sold at Bonhams, Paris, 12 June 2023, lot 10. All three are richly gilded with turquoise insets and corresponding floral decorations and incised details. All wear a garland around their necks, though this example depicts it draped in a bias across his body. Rich chasing of Ming-inspired floral patterns along the lower garment, here and in the lot sold at Bonhams Paris, pay tribute to artistic exchanges between China's Imperial court and Tibetan sects. Crisp lotus roundels in the rear, for instance, faithfully reproduce the motif found in embroidered Chinese silks, such as a textile preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (fig. 1; 1997.380).

Exemplifying a period of marked refinement in Tibetan art history, this gilt bronze sculpture of Virupa bears the hallmarks of the master sculptor, Sonam Gyaltsen, active in the second quarter of the 15th century. The artist's hand is evident, with interchangeable aspects of style and technique to that of a gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha, circa 1430, identified by inscription to have been made by Sonam Gyaltsen, which was sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033. Such identical features manifest in the turquoise-insets and the incised decoration, particularly the hatch marks within floral motifs. Furthermore, the treatment of the lotus base, with plump petals terminating in curlicue tips at the front, and simplified flattened petals at the back, is consistent with the inscribed Avalokiteshvara. The present bronze's base plate is gilded which is also a feature of Sonam Gyaltsen's work. As noted in the inscription of the Sonam Gyaltsen Avalokiteshvara, the master craftsman had the patronage of the Rinpung dynasty, specifically the third monarch, Norbu Zangpo (1403-66) who ruled between 1435-66. The dynasty's seat of power was in Shigatse, Tsang Province in Central Tibet, and its rulers mostly patronized the Sakya order, for whom Virupa is a root guru.

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

銅鎏金毘魯巴像
應為索南堅贊（活躍於十五世紀）之作 藏中 約1430至50年

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426，編號186

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

這尊西藏造像致敬了印度佛教一位傑出人物——公元九世紀的佛教大師毘魯巴。與中古時期其他大成就者一樣，毘魯巴歷經數年正統佛教訓練之後，選擇退出寺院生活，遵循個人的修道之路。他聞名於一種被稱為「道果法」的高效冥想修行法，此法後來由印度班智達迦耶達羅（逝於1103年）引入西藏，並在薩迦派內部演變為核心密續傳承。毘魯巴曾擔任那爛陀寺住持，在放棄了修行數十年未果的《勝樂金剛密續》之後，從金剛無我佛母處獲得以《喜金剛密續》為基礎的「道」。然而毘魯巴後來飲酒啖肉的行為，觸犯寺院眾怒，遂被逐出那爛陀寺，其後便以瑜伽士外相雲遊四方，呈現諸多奇跡。

在所有大成就者中，僅有毘魯巴展現出如此多樣化的外觀。這尊十五世紀的作品呈現聖人雙手持說法印，模仿佛陀在鹿野苑初次講法時所持手印。其安坐於鋪有羚羊皮的蓮花座上，為大成就者的造像之常見特徵。他身形飽滿、怒目圓睜，身與眼皆與另外兩尊造像十分相似，形成三聯群像式效果：其一收錄於Heller所著《Tibetan Art》（1999年，頁164，編號89） ，另一尊於2023年6月12日由巴黎邦瀚斯釋出（拍品10）。此三尊造像皆施以華美鎏金，並嵌綠松石，且見一致花卉圖案和裝飾細節。此外，三者皆頸戴花環，此尊造像更將花環斜戴於身上。巴黎邦瀚斯釋出之例以及此拍品腿部見美麗花卉紋樣，為明代風格啟發，展現出中原之宮廷與西藏教派之間的藝術交流。後側所見之清晰蓮花團樣，幾乎可視為中國絲繡品之復刻——例如一件大都會藝術博物館所藏的絲織品（圖1，1997.380）。

此尊銅鎏金毘魯巴像所展示的是一段西藏藝術史上風格精緻化的時期特徵，具有活躍於十五世紀約三十至五十年代間的藝術大師索南堅贊手筆。另一尊銅鎏金十一面千手觀音像（約1430年）之銘文記載其為索南堅贊製作，由紐約邦瀚斯於2018年3月19日釋出（拍品3033）。此觀音像與毘魯巴像之風格與工藝如此一致，如綠松石鑲嵌和裝飾刻畫上，尤其是花瓣內的刻線。此外，二者蓮花座造型亦一致，即正面花瓣飽滿，末端呈捲曲狀，背面花瓣簡潔而平整。此尊毘魯巴像造像封底見鎏金，亦為索南堅贊造像特徵之一。據索南堅贊所作觀音像銘文記載，這位大師接受的是仁蚌巴王朝——具體而言即1435至1466年間執行統治的第三任君主諾布桑波（1403-1466年）之贊助。該王朝的權力中心位於西藏中部的日喀則，其統治者大多支持薩迦派傳承，此傳承正以毘魯巴為一根本上師。

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。