STATUETTE DE VAJRAPANI EN LAITON AVEC INCRUSTATION D'ARGENTTIBET CENTRAL, XIE/XIIE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 1831 68.6 cm (27 in.) high
Footnotes:
A SILVER INLAID BRASS FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI
CENTRAL TIBET, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
Published Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, (Expanded Edition), New York, 1996, p. 464, no. 219 (130a). Chandra Reedy, Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style and Choices, Los Angeles, 1997, no. W135. Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 357, no. 151. 
Exhibited  Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, 9 May - 25 August 1996; Fundacio 'la Caixa', Barcelona, 1 October 1996 – 14 January 1997; Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo, February - April 1997; The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, May - July 1997; Chiba City Museum of Art, August - September 1997; Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, January - March 1998. Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 —19 February 2017.
Provenance Spink & Son Ltd., London, by 1980's
The Speelman Vajrapani
'This statue, one of the finest early Tibetan images of Vajrasattva [sic], is in the standing position commonly seen in early examples of this deity (Essen and Thingo, 1989, fig. II-44; Béguin, 1977, fig. 40). Holding vajra and bell, the figure is a complex and charming mixture of elements. [...] The face, made larger by the mass of stacked hair, has a benign, gentle expression, its large, soft features somewhat reminiscent of the faces in the early wall paintings at Shalu of ca. 1045 (Vitali 1990, pl. 50). Garments and jewels create a gorgeous, though somewhat unexpected, richness in the figure, and one is captivated by the unnatural yet restrained movements of the hems, sashes, belts, and ribbons. Somewhat heavy chasing for the textile designs adds to the linear complexity of the lower garment (dhoti), which has a series of U-shaped, narrow, raised pleats, known in Indian art but perhaps more typical of Chinese and Central Asian styles. The tight, curling hems are a feature notable in many figures of 11th-12th-century thangkas from the central regions.' —Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, 2000, p. 464.
In the authors' seminal exhibition catalog, Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman make several astute observations about this sculpture's aesthetic appeal, but misidentify its subject matter. The elegant bronze can indeed be confidently attributed to the 11th/12th century. As Rhie and Thurman touch on, it shares numerous characteristics with painting and sculptural programs at a series of monuments in Central Tibet. These monumental projects, namely Shalu, Nyethang, Yemar, Kyangpu, and Drathang (hereafter, the 'Shalu-Drathang group') were undertaken in the 11th century, at the onset of the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet. The floral patterns chased into Vajrapani's pleated robe are the first elements associating the present bronze with the Shalu-Drathang group. Derived from Indian textile designs, the same type appears on the lower garment of a c. 12th-century Pala bronze of Maitreya at a temple in Nyethang (Henss, The Cultural Monuments of Tibet, Vol. I, 2014, p. 265, no. 395). Nyethang served as the first sanctuary for the relics of Atisha (982-1054), a pandit from Northeastern India who was one of the greatest masters of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and the foremost representative of the Second Diffusion in Tibet. The Nyethang Maitreya is thought to have either been brought from India or made by an Indian artist working in situ (ibid., p. 266). The daisy-like flower motif represented in its lower garment also decorates the present Vajrapani and is found elsewhere across the Shalu-Drathang group. For instance, the motif is repeated on the wall behind a no-longer-extant monumental sculpture of Maitreya at Yemar (photographed in 1947; ibid., Vol.II, p. 564, no. 804), and covers the princely garb of a bodhisattva at Drathang (fig. 1). The host of bodhisattvas painted at Drathang between 1081-93 also share crown types, tall chignons, and stylized facial features congruent with the Speelman Vajrapani, affirming its attribution to Central Tibet in the 11th/12th century.
As for the sculpture's subject, Vajrapani (Tibetan: chag na dor je; English: the Vajra Holder) is an important male character from the Sutra literature of Mahayana Buddhism. He is featured prominently in a number of important dialogues with Shakyamuni Buddha and other characters such as Manjushri. Vajrapani is also regarded as one of the Eight Heart-sons of Shakyamuni. With reference to his appearance, there is a very distinct difference between how figures are depicted between the Sutra and Tantra traditions. Sutra tradition figures, male and female, are all narrative based with a tremendous degree of freedom on the part of the artist in choosing the manner of portrayal, posture, and attire. Sutra figures can therefore be described as dynamic. In the Tantra tradition, Vajrapani is more typically shown in a wrathful form and known as Guhyapati - 'the Lord of Secrets.' He is believed to be the main recipient, holder, and protector of all the Tantra texts, literature, and teachings received from the Buddha Shakyamuni (in the appearance of Vajradhara Buddha). Very different from the Sutra tradition, in the Tantric tradition figures are described in ritual manuals and function as meditational objects, and are therefore static with prescribed iconography, limiting an artist's freedom of imagination.
With Vajrapani having two main categories, Sutra and Tantra, for the form and function, it is a process of elimination and probability to determine the proper textual source and context for this important early Tibetan bronze sculpture. There are five possibilities where Vajrapani can appear in a peaceful standing manner. Two of these are Sutra in origin and three are Tantra in origin. Observing the Tantra possibilities first, there is the group known as the Three Lords of the World that includes Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani, which is rarely, if ever, created in a large sculptural format. There is a standing Vajrapani holding a vajra and a fly whisk included with the Nine-Deity Ushnishavijaya long life mandala, which again is rarely, if ever, found in large format sculpture. Lastly within Tantra, Vajrapani can be commonly found within a triad of Vajradhara Buddha in both painting and sculpture. However, such triads were not generally depicted in Tibetan art until the 14th century. Moreover, none of these three Tantric possibilities were popular during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet (10th through 12th centuries), and so we may conclude that this figure of Vajrapani from the 11th century does not represent a Tantric program.  
Turning to the Sutra possibilities, there are two very common contexts for a standing Vajrapani. The first is within sculptural depictions of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, mentioned earlier as the Eight Heart-sons of Shakyamuni. These eight represent the most important realized students of the Buddha and a new Mahayana class of interlocutors and teachers—separate and above the elders, sthaviras and arhats—who were the monastic students in the earlier Shravakayana sutras. The second possible Sutra context is a standing Vajrapani along with Avalokiteshvara or Maitreya as attendants to a large sculpture of Amitabha Buddha. This was a very popular theme and set of figures to represent Mahayana Buddhism in general and intended to distinguish it from the Shravakayana Buddhism represented principally by Shakyamuni Buddha, the students Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the Sixteen Arhats, Dharmatala, Hvashang and the Four Guardian Kings.  
In modern times confusions and questions have persisted with any standing figure, male, peaceful in appearance, that holds a vajra, or both a vajra and bell. It is a question of identification. In the recent past it was popular to identify all standing figures such as this as the meditational deity Vajrasattva. However, standing forms of Vajrasattva have not yet been textually identified among the various Tantra classifications and mandala examples. So, the key point for identifying this sculpture as Vajrapani is the standing posture.
The Vedic god Indra can also be in a standing posture and holding a vajra. However, the possibility of this figure representing Indra can be dismissed as Indra does not hold a bell as a hand attribute. He also generally wears a different, unique crown with a large flat peaked front. Other Buddhist iconographic figures can also be mentioned, such as the Five Symbolic Buddhas, but those five are all in a seated posture. Therefore, we can resolutely determine that this important early Tibetan sculpture, and others like it, represent Vajrapani, the Great Bodhisattva of Power.
Jeff Watt January 2024
For the figures listed in this essay, please refer to our printed or digital catalogue.
銅錯銀金剛手菩薩像
藏中 十一/十二世紀
著錄
Marylin M. Rhie 及 Robert A. F. Thurman，《Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet》（擴展版），紐約，1996年，頁464，編號219（130a）Chandra Reedy，《Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style and Choices》，洛杉磯，1997年，編號W135Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁357，編號151
展覽
「Wisdom and Compassion：The Sacred Art of Tibet」，德國聯邦共和國的藝術與展覽館，波恩，1996年5月9日 - 8月25日；Fundacio 「la Caixa」，巴塞羅那，1996年10月1日 – 1997年1月14日；東武美術館，東京，1997年2月 - 4月；山口縣立美術館，1997年5月 - 7月；千葉市美術館，1997年8月 - 9月；國父紀念館，台北，1998年1月至3月「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
來源
Spink & Son Ltd.，倫敦，二十世紀八十年代
Speelman金剛手菩薩像
「此尊造像，西藏早期金剛薩埵形象中最為精美的傑作之一，以其早期造像中多見之姿態而立（Essen 及 Thingo，1989年，圖 II-44；Béguin，1977年，圖 40）。其手持金剛杵與金剛鈴，呈現出諸多元素交響合奏的複雜而極富魅力的樣貌。[...] 其面容因為堆疊的頭髮而顯得更為龐大，呈現出一種慈祥、溫柔的神情，而此種大而柔和之特徵則有些引人聯想起約公元1045年的夏魯寺早期壁畫中的面孔（Vitali，1990年，圖版50）。服裝及珠寶為造像所帶來之令人未曾意料到的華麗高雅，令造像之呈現更為豐富，令人不由自主被衣擺、飾帶、腰帶和絲帶不自然但又克制處理的動感所吸引。織物設計上重工般的雕刻花紋增添其天衣線條之複雜性，一簇簇U形凸起的窄褶皺雖見於印度藝術，但或許於中國及中亞風格中更爲典型。緊密捲曲的衣緣為十一至十二世紀中部地區唐卡中許多人物之顯著特徵。」—Rhie 及 Thurman，《Wisdom and Compassion》，2000年，頁464
在作者們這一開創性且影響深遠的展覽圖錄中，Marylin Rhie 以及 Robert Thurman 對這尊造像之美學魅力進行了敏銳的觀察，但對其主題則有所誤。這尊優雅的銅像的確可極具把握地被歸於為十一至十二世紀期間所造。如 Rhie 及 Thurman 所述，其與一系列西藏中部重地之繪畫和雕塑有諸多共同特徵。這些古老的宗教聖地，即夏魯寺、聶唐寺、葉瑪寺、康普寺和扎塘寺（以下統稱為「夏魯-扎塘」寺廟群）於十一世紀興建，正值藏傳佛教后弘期之開端。刻於金剛手菩薩長褶衣上之花卉圖案是將此件銅像與「夏魯-扎塘」寺廟群聯繫起來的第一個特徵。此圖樣源自印度織物設計，同一類圖案出現於聶唐寺一尊約十二世紀帕拉風格的彌勒銅像下裝上（見Henss，《The Cultural Monuments of Tibet》，卷一，2014年，頁265，編號395）。聶唐寺為阿底峽尊者（982-1054）第一座聖物供奉之處。阿底峽為來自印度東北部的一位班智達，是印度-西藏佛教最偉大的大師之一，亦是西藏地區后弘期最重要的代表。聶唐寺之彌勒像可能自印度運至此處，或者由一位在當地工作的印度藝術家製作（同上，頁266）。彌勒下裝上呈現的雛菊狀花朵圖案同樣裝飾在此尊金剛手菩薩像上，並在「夏魯-扎塘」寺廟群中各處出現。例如，1947年拍攝於葉瑪寺的照片上，一尊如今不復存在的巨型彌勒雕塑身後牆壁上便有此圖案重複出現（同上，卷二，頁564，編號804），並裝飾著扎塘寺一位菩薩像之王裝（圖1）。繪製於1081-93年間之扎塘寺菩薩群像亦共有相似的寶冠形制、高髻以及風格化的面部特徵，與此Speelman之金剛手菩薩像一致，證明其歸屬於十一至十二世紀之西藏中部無疑。
至於造像之神祇身份——金剛手菩薩（藏語：chag na dor je），是大乘佛教經文中至關重要的男性角色，在諸多與釋迦牟尼佛及文殊菩薩等其他角色之重要對話中占有顯著地位。金剛手菩薩也被視為釋迦牟尼之八大心子之一。關於他的外觀，顯宗經典與密宗傳統之間在人物描繪上可見非常明顯的區別。顯宗傳統的人物，無論男女，都是基於敘事的，而藝術家在選擇描繪方式、姿態和服裝方面有極大的自由度。因此，顯宗人物形象可以被描述為動態的。而在密續傳統中，金剛手菩薩更典型地呈現以忿怒相之形式，被稱為金剛密跡（Guhyapati）——秘密之主。其被認為是出自釋迦牟尼佛（現身以金剛總持之形象）之密續文本、文學和教義的主要接受者、持者以及守護者。與顯宗經典截然不同的是，在密續傳統中，人物依據儀軌所描述、且作為觀想本尊而運行，故為其形象為靜態、有著絲毫不差之圖像規定，限制藝術家之天馬行空。
考慮到金剛手菩薩存於顯密兩傳統，且其外形及功效亦有顯密雙重出處，則通過排除法以及可能性來判斷這件重要的早期西藏銅像之合理文本來源以及誕生之背景。金剛手菩薩現身以寂靜相站姿，則有五種可能。兩種是大乘經典來源，三種是則出自密續。首先檢視密續之可能性。有一被稱為「三怙主」之組合，包括文殊菩薩、觀音菩薩以及金剛手菩薩，但即使曾有任何此三尊像之大型雕塑得以創作，也是極為罕見的。另有站立姿之金剛手菩薩，手持金剛杵和拂塵，出自九神祇尊勝佛母長壽曼荼羅，同樣，即使曾經以大型雕塑的格式出現，也幾乎不可多見。最後，在密續中，金剛手菩薩通常可以在金剛總持三尊像之繪畫以及雕塑中見到。然而，這樣的三尊像直到十四世紀才普遍出現在西藏藝術中。此外，這三種可能的密續來源在藏傳佛教後弘期期間（十至十二世紀）無一流行，因此，我們或許可以得出結論，這尊來自十一世紀之金剛手菩薩造像並不代表一密續體系。
繼而轉向顯宗經典的可能性，則有兩種十分常見之金剛手菩薩立像之文本。第一種屬於八大菩薩的之造像，即前所述之釋迦牟尼八大心子。八大菩薩代表佛陀最重要之開悟證道之弟子，以及一個嶄新的大乘佛教之述說者與尊師——不僅區別於早期聲聞乘經典中之長老、上座以及羅漢尊者，且位於其上。第二種可能之顯宗經典則是站姿金剛手菩薩，與觀音菩薩或者彌勒菩薩一同，成為伴隨大型無量光佛造像之二協侍菩薩之一。此三尊像是一個非常盛行的、代表大乘佛教之題材，並旨在將其與主要由釋迦牟尼、弟子舍利弗和目犍連、十六羅漢尊者、達摩多羅尊者、哈香尊者以及四大天王所代表之聲聞乘佛教區分開來。
在現代研究中，混淆與疑問存在於任何站立姿勢、寂靜相、持有金剛杵或同時持金剛杵及金剛鈴的男之男性形象。這是一個身份識別的問題。在剛剛過去的一段時間裡，學界流行將所有此樣站立人像視為觀想本尊金剛薩埵。然而，在各種密續之圖像學分類以及曼荼羅樣本中，皆未以文本方式記述如何金剛薩埵站立像。因此，識別這尊造像為金剛手菩薩之關鍵即其站立姿勢。
吠陀神因陀羅亦可能現身以站立姿勢、並持金剛杵。然而，因陀羅並不以金剛鈴作為手持法器，因此可排除此像為因陀羅之可能。因陀羅通常亦帶有一定獨特的、與此造像截然不同之寶冠，其中央葉片形制大而平，頂尖。其他重要佛教圖像學可參考之人物亦可比較，如五&... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
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Very good overall condition with ancient loss to the central crown leaf and finial projecting from the top of the hair. Thin stress crack evident on left forearm and minor dent at left elbow that are integrally stable. Also a thin stress crack running vertically at the front left ankle and stress cracks to both sides of the right ankle that are otherwise integrally stable. Several casting flaws and patches evident at the back of the sculpture that were made at the time of production. Behind each arm are two double lugs, as well as double lugs at the top center of the back that would have connected to or supported a larger superstructure. Overall wear and abrasions to the whole consistent with prolonged use within the culture. Gilding to face worn in areas as is visible in images. Greasy black deposits and dust in the recessed areas. Smooth polished patina to the whole, insert silver eyes with Jet pupils intact. Mounted to a custom-made stand.
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