A fine gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus18th century
Well cast with a benevolent face framed by an intricate tiara and disk earrings, wearing a long flowing robe and a celestial scarf trailing down to the sides, adorned with beaded jewellery inset with turquoise, seated in dhyanasana with the hands in dhyana mudra holding an eternal vase, all on a single-lotus pedestal. 24.5cm (9 1/2in) high.注脚十八世紀 銅鎏金無量壽佛

Himalayan Art Resources item no.16787
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網16787號

Provenance:
Henry Harrison Getty (1838-1919), by repute
Alice Getty (d.1946), by repute
Courtenay Morgan, Viscount Tredegar (1867-1934), by repute
Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar (1893-1949), by repute
Professor and Mrs Bellerby, by repute
Mark Dineley (1901-1975)
Peter Dineley (1938-2018), and thence by descent

Noted in the handwritten family 'A Catalogue of the Dineley Collection of Tibetiana and Associated Buddhistic Objects', early 1960s, p.102.

來源：
傳亨利·哈里遜·蓋蒂舊藏（1838-1919年）
傳愛麗絲·蓋蒂舊藏（卒於1946年）
傳卓德嘉子爵考特尼·摩根舊藏（1867-1934年）
傳特里迪格子爵二世艾文·摩根舊藏（1893-1949年）
傳貝勒比教授及夫人舊藏
馬克·戴尼利舊藏（1901-1975年）
彼得·戴尼利舊藏（1938-2018年），並由家族繼承

記載於戴尼利家族手稿《戴尼利家族的西藏州和相關的佛教物品收藏目錄》'A Catalogue of the Dineley Collection of Tibetiana and Associated Buddhistic Objects'，1960年代初，頁102。

This finely cast bronze figure is likely to be a revival work produced by the Imperial Workshops of the Qing dynasty to resemble Nepalese sculptures made by the Newari artisans. Indian and Nepalese bronze figures were first introduced to China through exchanges between Tibetan monasteries and the Yuan court during the 13th century. By the 18th century, Tibetan Buddhism continued to receive imperial patronage and a significant holding of examples had been assembled by the Qing Court.

The figure's heavy folds of the drapery, and the design of the tall chignon tied with a large and beaded floral spray draw similarity to the earlier Nepalese examples. Compare the same design on a 11th century copper-alloy figure of Bodhisattva Maitreya in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, illustrated by P.Pal, Art of Nepal, Los Angeles, 1985, p.100, no.S20. Compare also a gilt copper-alloy seated figure of Avalokiteshvara, Nepal, 11th century, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Status of Tibet, Shanghai, 2003, p.80, no.77, showing similar design of necklace with three pendant tiger claws hanging against the pectorals.

佛像髮髻高聳，頭戴牌飾及瓔珞，雙耳垂肩，墜以花型耳飾，髮披兩肩，袒右肩露乳，膊攏哈達，雙手結禪定印，托無量壽寶瓶，寶瓶插花垂帶，全跏趺坐於單瓣仰蓮臺上，封底鏨刻十字金剛杵，通體鎏金，髮染紺紫，首飾嵌松石。

此尊銅像鑄造精緻，形制特別，或為宮廷造辦處承尼泊爾之遺風而作。十三世紀以後，藏傳佛教相繼得到元、明、清三代朝廷的重視及扶植，清王朝亦以「興黃安蒙」為重要邊疆政策，通過藏傳佛教的影響力治理蒙藏地區，各派佛教首領紛紛赴京向朝廷進貢佛像，其中包括大批環喜馬拉雅地區的造像。至十八世紀，清宮中各地區造像雲集，造辦處以之為藍本。

此尊無量壽佛上有眾多早期尼泊爾造像元素，如其較貼身之衣物表現，以及高聳並帶有花瓣形的牌飾等，可參考一件藏於洛杉磯縣立藝術博物館中十一世紀尼泊爾銅彌勒菩薩像，其髮髻裝飾非常相似，著錄於P.Pal著，《Art of Nepal》，洛杉磯，1985年，頁100，編號S20。另見北京故宮清宮舊藏一件十一世紀尼泊爾銅鎏金菩薩坐像，著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：藏傳佛教造像》，上海，2003年，頁80，編號77，其髮髻以及胸前的三爪式吊墜均可資比較。

PLEASE REFER TO THE E-CATALOGUE FOR A FULL RESEARCH ARTICLE BY LUO WENHUA, RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING

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