OVER-LIFESIZE HEAD OF A TIANWANG GUARDIAN GOD, YUAN – EARLY MING DYNASTY

Massive cast iron with remains of gold lacquer, good natural patina

China, Yuan – Early Ming Dynasty

This head, very unusual in the power of its expression, is that of a Tianwang. These are the temple guardians who were originally demon kings that converted to Buddhism and were made guardians of holy sites. As this head alone makes impressively clear, their appearance is powerful and extremely athletic. The precise depiction of the facial expression in its complete concentration on the greatest possible vigilance is of great artistic quality and has been reproduced with a rare degree of intensity.

These Tianwang, literally “Heavenly Kings”, are a quartet referred to as the Sida Tianwang 四 大 天 王, the “Four Great Heavenly Kings”, as well as the “Diamond Kings”, the Jingang, 金 剛, literally “precious and hard”. This means that while they themselves can wound others, they cannot be wounded. The Tianwang have bodies and faith “as strong as steel”, something which the present head makes convincingly clear. Because it lacks attributes it cannot be identified by name. While they are less directly honored – compared to the Buddha, the bodhisattvas etc. – they are still elementary figures, portrayed in Chinese mythology as guardians located on the four corners of Mount Meru, the center of the cosmos, where all four have their palaces.

This head has a tall shock of hair which emerges like a waterfall and is held together by a prominent piece in shape of a mythical beast with a ruyi-form back. The interplay between the expressive shapes of the screaming, open mouth, the dynamically arched eyebrows (with small volutes in the region around the nose’s bridge) and the urna is dramatically executed.

Shape: Sculptural
Weight: 35 kilograms
Dimensions: Height 56 cm
Condition: While certain signs of its old age are, of course, present, this head’s very complete preservation is impressive. One major dent to the backside. Minor chipping here and there, wear, some hardly visible surface scratches.
Provenance: United Kingdom private collection

Literature comparison: Comparable examples can be found in “Complete Works of Statues in Longmen Grottoes”, Beijing 2002, ill. 28 to 30; in “Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculptures”, Taipei 1989, no. 9; or in “Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculptures – Veneration of the Sublime”, Osaka 1995, no. 59. Sothebys, Contemporary Literati: Curiosity, 05 APR 2015, HONG KONG, lot 2843. (for another, yet smaller RARE LIMESTONE HEAD OF A GUARDIAN, TANG DYNASTY). Compare also with a related head of the guardian Dvarapala, Yuan dynasty, in the British Museum (acc.no.1960,0729.1).

Auction result comparison: Sotheby’s, IMPORTANT CHINESE ART, 15 March 2017, lot 547. (for a cast-iron head of a Guanyin, dating to the same period)

元/明初金剛天王首像
鐵鑄，保有金漆，天然包漿
中國，元至明初

頭像呈現天王與眾不凡的力量，帶來極大的震撼。天王是淨土佛寺的護法神，原為魔怪，經感化或降伏而皈依佛門，成為守護眾生的護法神。此首像威武的面貌，清楚地表達出天王的震攝力，盡忠職守的態度，讓人印象深刻。稀有的描繪手法，具有極高的藝術欣賞價值。

四大天王，又稱四大金剛，具有忠貞不二的意志及刀槍不入的身軀。雖影響力遠不如佛祖、菩薩，但善盡護法本分，仍受人供奉。根據佛教經典，四大護法居於須彌山，各護一天下。

這個頭像面部表情極其生動形象，頭髮極具衝擊力，如瀑布一樣，并髮箍固定在頭部，化成一獸形，眉間的白毫明亮，雙目炯炯有神、張嘴斥喝。

形狀：人物首像
重量：35公斤
尺寸：高56厘米
此首像年代久遠，但品相保存完整，讓人驚豔。背部有一明顯凹痕，一些輕微磨損及幾乎不可見的表面刮痕。
英國私人收藏

文獻比較：一些可比較之物件，《龍門石窟藝術 增訂本》，北京2002年，28-30頁。《Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculptures》，臺北，1989年，第9號。《Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculptures – Veneration of the Sublime》，大阪，1995年，第59號。另一個唐代更小的石灰岩天王，見蘇富比《奇-當代人文藝術》，2015年4月5日，香港，2843號拍品。另一件相似的元朝守門天護法首像，現藏於大英博物館，藏品編號1960.0729.1。
類似拍品：一個同年代鐵製護法首像，見蘇富比《中國藝術珍品》，2017年3月15日，拍品編號547。