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A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID BRASS ALLOY FIGURE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA
TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no.2438 22.9 cm (9 in.) high
Footnotes
The subject of centuries of handling and ritual ablutions, the bronze's surface has achieved a mirror-like sheen from sustained worship. Further evidence is found in the w哦rn areas of the nose, mouth, and chin, caressed by the practitioner's thumb.
The simplicity of his robe concedes to the elegant body underneath. Its fishtail pleat across the left shoulder, and hems that spill onto the platform around his knees and ankles, follow the convention seen in an earlier c.12th-century Buddha image in the Potala Palace (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 2001, p.1148, no.301B).
The use of silver and copper inlay to embellish portions of the bronze surface betrays the influence of imported sculpture from India during the early centuries of Tibet's adoption of Buddhism. Here it is employed to enliven the eyes, heighten the lips, and decorate the lotus petals. Meanwhile, the absence of beaded rims above and below the lotus petals marks a notable variation from Indian models.
The uncommon band of scrolling foliage along the base's lower rim draws a likeness to ornamentation from either Indian or Chinese sources. At once similar to patterning seen in Pala sculpture, it is also redolent of the scrolling vines in Yuan textiles (see ibid., p.1089, fig.XVII-3, and Watt, The World of Khubilai Khan, New York, 2010, p.113, fig.146, respectively).
Provenance Private Collection of Ed O'Neill, Hong Kong, by 1990
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