A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF VASUDHARANEPAL, CIRCA 11TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16705
19.8 cm (7 3/4 in.) high注脚Vasudhara, whose name means "Bearer of Treasure", is a Buddhist goddess particularly revered in Nepal. Represented as an attractive young girl, she holds a sutra, a sheaf of grain, a vase containing an elixir of immortality, and a wish-fulling gem, while a remaining hand displays the gesture of charity. The sutra in her hand associates her with Prajnaparamita, the goddess of wisdom, while the other attributes signify her role as an all-encompassing purveyor of wealth and prosperity.

The bronze's circa 11th-century date is suggested by various stylistic details, including the soft and sensuous modeling, the sharply defined facial features, the high armbands, and the comparatively restrained ornamentation. The diaphanous scarf crossing her chest and forming a loop over her left shoulder is also characteristic of Nepalese bronzes of this period. So are the dotted patterns within parallel sections on her lower garment. All of these elements are shared by a gilt bronze Vasudhara, dated by inscription to 1082 CE (Pal, Where the Gods are Young, New York, 1975, p.57, no.41).

The present lot is also closely related to two other circa 11th-century Vasudhara figures, one in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Pal, Art of Nepal, Los Angeles, 1985, p.101-2, no.S21), and the other in the Palace Museum, Beijing (Luo, Iconography and Styles: Tibetan Statues in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2002, p.383, no.168). In addition to their similar body and facial type, the hair of all three figures is neatly arranged into two large buns on either side of a bejeweled crown with prominent central leaf. Moreover, they also wear similar lozenge-shaped earrings and belts with a long central sash. Furthermore, the flower roundel design on the cushion of the current bronze is reproduced on the lower garment of the LACMA figure.

The soft triangular cushion with incised roundels is a stylistic program common to Nepalese bronzes of the 9th to 11th centuries. This is attested to by a c.9th-century Manjushri in the Norton Simon Museum (Pal, Art from the Himalayas and China, Pasadena, 2003, p.66-7, no.39), and an 11th-century four-armed goddess in the Palace Museum, Beijing ( Zang chuan fo jiao zao xiang, Hong Kong, 2008, p.81, no.78). The present Vasudhara would have been placed on a separately-cast rectangular throne like the Palace Museum bronze. For other related 10th-11th century Nepalese bronzes, see Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, pp.36 & 43, nos.12 & 19.

Provenance
Private Canadian Collection


銅鎏金財源天母像
尼泊爾，約十一世紀
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網16705號
高19.8釐米（7 3/4英吋）

1,200,000-1,600,000港幣

財源天母為佛教女尊，在尼泊爾尤受尊崇。此處財源天母呈現年輕女子的美麗形象，手持經書、穀穗、長壽寶瓶以及如意寶珠，另有一手施予願印。所持經書將其與智慧女神般若波羅蜜多菩薩聯繫起來，其餘寶物則象徵其包羅萬有之財富賜予者身份。

多處風格特徵與工藝細節指明造像為十一世紀所造，比如財源天母柔和婀娜的身形、描摹清晰的五官、佩帶於上臂高處的臂釧以及樸素簡潔的裝飾等等。柔順的帔帛繞過前胸，繫於左肩，下裙上的橫紋中間刻著密密的點狀圖案，均為該時期尼泊爾造像特徵。以上種種細節皆可見於一尊由銘文而確知為1082年所作銅鎏金財源天母像（見Pal，《Where the Gods are Yong》，紐約，1975年，頁57，編號41）。

本拍品亦與另外兩件約出自十一世紀之財源天母像十分接近，一件藏於洛杉磯郡藝術博物館（見Pal，《Art of Nepal》，洛杉磯，1985年，頁101-2，編號S21），另一件則藏於北京故宮博物院（見羅文華，《圖像與風格——故宮藏傳佛教造像》，北京，2002年，頁383，編號168）。除相似的身形與面容外，三尊佛母的頭髮都整齊地在寶冠兩側盤成兩個高聳的髮髻，襯托著鑲嵌華麗珠寶的中央冠葉。她們亦配戴相似的菱形耳環以及中央垂下長飾帶的腰帶。此外，本造像坐墊上的花團紋也可見於洛杉磯郡藝術博物館作品的下裙之上。

造像中帶有圓形圖樣的三角形軟墊常見於九至十世紀間尼泊爾造像。例如，諾頓西蒙博物館所藏一件九世紀文殊菩薩像（見Pal，《Art from the Himalayas and China》，帕薩迪納，2003年，頁66-7，編號39）以及一件北京故宮博物院藏十一世紀四臂佛母像（《藏傳佛教造像》，香港，2008年，頁81，編號78）。正如故宮博物院藏品一般，本尊財源天母像原應配有一單獨鑄造的長方形寶座，現已遺失。其他相關之十至十一世紀尼泊爾造像可參考Pal，《Himalyas：An Aesthetic Adventure》，芝加哥，2003年，頁36及43，編號12及19。

來源
加拿大私人珍藏