著录:出版 Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24873. 拍品描述:来源 阿姆斯特丹佳士得，1992年10月19日，拍品编号72、76 This impressively worked, stepped throne and equally majestic throne back illustrate the grandeur with which Tibetan sculptors embellished and exalted images of enlightened beings such as buddhas or lamas. Both the iconography of the figural program on the throne and the overall quality of the workmanship point to date of fifteenth-century manufacture, when Tibetan metal casting was perhaps at its zenith. The throne is arranged in tiers, with a panel of deities at the bottom below a band of lotus petal lappets, with another figural panel above between incised rice-grain and molded leaf motif bands. The corners of each stepped tier have pointed tips, mimicking a feature found in Nepalese architecture but also commonly represented in Nepalese and Tibetan paintings of Buddhist throne work. The upper figural panel is divided by columns into three niches, with the central niche centered by a vertical vajra surrounded by foliate scroll and the side niches with addorsed lions and diminutive gana-like figures supporting the tier above. The presence of such dividing columns immediately evokes the stepped architecture of the tashi gomang stupas of Densatil monastery, but can also be found in other fifteenth-century images of enthroned figures such as a rare fifteenth-century Tibetan gilt-bronze figure of Buddha sold at Christie’s New York, 23 March 2022, lot 422. The lower tier is centered with an image of Chaturbhuja Mahakala seated on a corpse, with a diminutive image of Kakasyamukha (‘The Raven-Faced One’); at his left are images of Mahakala Panjarnata and Shri Devi, and at his right are figures of Shri Devi and Jambhala. The Guardian Kings of the Four Directions are at the ends of the panel, with Vaishravana and Virupaksha at far proper left and Virudhaka and Dhrtarashtra at far proper right. Again, such iconography is consistent with fifteenth-century Tibetan sculptural programs such as those found at Densatil Monastery. The conjoined throne back and aureole follows somewhat consistent iconography of Tibetan Buddhist art, but is nonetheless impressive in quality. The rice-grain pattern at the base of the throne back matches that running along the front of the throne, and indicates the two pieces were made for one another and not associated. At the bottom, the bodhisattvas Manjushri (with a water pot on the lotus at his shoulder) and Avalokiteshvara flank the central aureole on lotus blossoms and are surrounded by elephants and rearing vyalas. Above, roaring makaras rest on the throne rails, below a frontally depicted Garuda clutching the tails of two naga figures. All are interspersed by a dense bunch of foliate scroll, with three flaming jewels at top. Although the fifteenth-century figure of Buddha Shakyamuni offered as part of the lot, it is theoretically consistent with the original figure that would have been presented on the throne. The Buddha sits with an upright posture in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base with his hands in bhumisparshamudra, referencing the moment of enlightenment achieved at Bodh Gaya. The diaphanous robes of the body reveal the powerful physique below, and the face with its downcast gaze projects meditative focus and commitment.