STATUETTE D'AKSHOBHYA EN LAITON AVEC INCRUSTATION DE CUIVRE
TIBET CENTRAL, VERS XIIIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1809
40 cm (15 3/4 in.) high 
Footnotes:
A COPPER INLAID BRASS FIGURE OF AKSHOBHYA 
CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY 

Published 
Marcel Nies, Window of the Sacred World: Art of India, the Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia, Antwerp, 2002, no. 24. 
Jan van Alphen, Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch Collections, Antwerp, 2005, p. 163, no. 49. 
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 409, no. 177. 

Exhibited 
Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 —19 February 2017. 

Provenance 
Marcel Nies Oriental Art, Belgium 

Cast with a sweet and serene expression, this handsome figure represents the crowned emanation of Akshobya, the Immovable One, as one of the Five Tathagatas. Known as the Cosmic Buddhas, these deities belong to a preeminent subset of the yoga tantras. To the Sarma, or new schools of Tibetan Buddhism, they represent the belief that the world is composed of five elements, with each Buddha embodying an aspect of wisdom with a corresponding color, Buddha family, cardinal direction, and hand gesture. Blue in complexion and motioning his right hand forward in the earth-witnessing gesture (bhumisparsha mudra), Akshobya presides over the Vajra family of Buddhas within the eastern quadrant of a mandala. His invocation serves as an antidote to anger and hatred, with his mirror-like wisdom reflecting a world free of illusory distortions warped by the human ego. Since his true existence is empty and therefore ineffable to the unenlightened mind, Akshobya is depicted here in a blissful, 'reward body' (sambhogakaya) at the threshold of dissolving into his dharmakaya form. The artist has imbued his creation with an arresting calm, drawing the viewer closer to inspect the copper inlays applied to the fingernails of the right hand, the band of the crown, and the figure's ample lips.

This bronze ranks among finer examples of early non-gilt sculpture in Tibet from the 13th and 14th centuries. Stylistically, it pays homage to the two Indian aesthetic traditions of the preceding centuries that had greatest influence on Tibetan Buddhist art in the formative period. The first being that of Kashmir, wherefrom works were transmitted to West Tibet, echoed in the sculpture's wide lotus petals and the technique of using casting struts to bridge the figure's crown and scarf. The second being that of Pala northeastern India, wherefrom sculptures were brought to Central Tibet. Pala borrowings include the figure's lozenge-shaped jewellery, tall chignon, and gentle dip to the eyelids. Differences in figural modelling, however, indicate the bronze's creation in Tibet, paralleling the casting quality and facial type of a seated Buddha published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, 2001, p. 1173, no. 313D, and a figure of Ratnasambhava in the Tibet Museum, Gruyères (ABS 032; HAR 200457).

錯紅銅阿閦佛銅像
藏中 約十三世紀

著錄
Marcel Nies，《Window of the Sacred World: Art of India, the Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia》，安特衛普，2002年，編號24
Jan van Alphen，《Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch Collections》，安特衛普，2005年，頁163，編號49
Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha：2000 Years of Buddhist Art，232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁409，編號177

展覽
「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
Marcel Nies Oriental Art，比利時

此尊造像英俊非凡，神情恬靜安詳，為阿閦佛之寶冠形象，即不動尊，為五方如來之一。五方如來又稱五方佛，屬瑜伽密續最重要一組神明。對藏傳佛教新派來而言，五佛即代表世界由五大元素構成這一信仰，由每位佛陀象徵五種智慧之一，並各有不同顏色、佛部、方位以及手印。阿閦佛膚藍，右手向前伸出結觸地印，掌管曼荼羅東方之金剛界。祈求大日如來以抵抗怒與憎，其大圓鏡智不妄不愚，展現出一個沒有人性曲解幻想之世界。由於其真實存在為空，無法言說於未開悟的心智，故此處阿閦佛呈現圓滿色身的「報身」，處於解脫為「法身」之邊緣。藝術家賦予造象引人入勝的平靜，引導觀者細細查看其微妙細節，如其右手指甲、冠冕帶及豐滿唇上所錯紅銅。

此尊銅像堪稱為十三及十四世紀西藏早期非鎏金銅像中的傑作。其風格上向對後來西藏佛教藝術形成影響巨大的兩個早期印度藝術傳統致敬。首先，其呼應了傳入西藏西部的克什米爾藝術風格，如其寬大的蓮花瓣、寶冠葉片之間的連接以及披巾下的支撐技法。其次，此造像亦參照印度東北部之帕拉美學，其傳入地則為西藏中部地區。借鑒之元素包括菱形珠寶裝飾、高髮髻，以及柔和下垂的眼瞼。而佛像本身身形之差異，則表明此阿閦佛造於西藏，其品質與面部風格與一尊坐佛像（見von Schroeder，《Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet》，卷二，2001年，頁1173，編號313D），以及格呂耶爾西藏博物館所藏一尊寶生佛（ABS 032，喜馬拉雅藝術資源網200457號）如出一轍。
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Very good condition overall, with partial losses to the tip of the ribbon tie nearest to the figure's left ear and to the scarf end nearest to the figure's left elbow. There is a square-shaped repair to a casting flaw to the figure's upper abdomen that was made at the time of its production. Very light wear to the upper beaded rim of the base nearest to the figure's left knee. Very faint dents and scratches intermittently throughout the surface. Remains of gold pigment to the figure's hair knot and intermittently throughout the surface. The piece survives with its original copper inlays located at the band of the figure's crown, lower lip, and to the fingernails.
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