A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHASRI LANKA, KANDYAN PERIOD, 18TH CENTURY
43.4 cm (17 1/8 in.) high注脚This solid, thickly gilded statuette glorifies the Buddha, standing hieratic with a countenance of enlightened satisfaction. Buddha's golden skin is wrapped in a close-fitting robe, hugging his broad, idealized physique. The robe's wavy grooves shimmer and mimic the wrinkling of a fine gossamer under Sri Lanka's tropical climate. Buddha's upraised hand offers a gesture of reassurance to take refuge in his teachings (abhaya mudra). Embellished with spirals surrounding a diamond shaped lotus, his palm bears this enduring Buddhist symbol for every being's ability to rise above the 'muddy waters' of their birth and free themselves from the cycle of rebirth and inherent suffering. Another spiral forms the elaborate urna at the center of Buddha's forehead, positioned below neat curls terminating in a widow's peak and a bold flame rising from the crown of his head like a beacon of his enlightened wisdom.
 
This sculpture was produced by imperial workshops in Sri Lanka during a great renaissance of Buddhist art and architecture in the Kandyan Period. King Kirti Sri Rajasinha (r.1747-82) ushered in a new dynastic style which brought a flair for abstraction and dazzling surfaces to traditional modes of representing Buddha's idealized physique. With its almost spherical head, this sculpture is perceivably the finest among a rare subgroup, which may suggest a conscious choice made on the part of the patron, or may perhaps reference the claim in Sri Lankan Theravada literature (for example, the Phena Sutta) that Buddha is descended from the Suriya Vamsa (Solar Dynasty), and thus the sun. Other Kandyan bronzes with this facial type are published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990, p.531, no.168G; and Phoenix Art Museum, Guardian of the Flame, Phoenix, 2003, p.147. The distinctive semi-circular shaped ears were also adopted for large central shrine images of seated Buddha, made of wood, brick, and clay, at Ridi Vihara and Vattarama Rajamahavihara (von Schroeder, op. cit., pp.491 & 497, nos. 150D & 153D, respectively).

Provenance
Private Collection, US, by 1957
Thence by descent


銅鎏金佛陀立像
斯里蘭卡，康提時期，十八世紀
高43.4釐米（17 1/8英吋）

350,000-450,000港幣

本尊立像造型健碩，鎏金厚重。佛陀面容流露出開悟證道之歡欣，寬闊雄壯之身軀體現出理想化的美感。其貼身袈裟波紋流轉，刻畫出衣料薄如蟬翼之輕盈質感，正符合熱帶氣候中斯里蘭卡絲織物的特點。佛陀右手施無畏印，予眾生以安樂及無所畏怖之心，掌心見菱形蓮花置於螺旋紋中，象徵佛教中信仰生靈萬物皆能如蓮花出淤泥而不染、解脫輪迴之苦。其頭部造型精美，眉間以螺旋紋為白毫，螺髮整齊，髮尖清晰，頭頂一簇火焰熊熊升起，昭示著佛陀智慧。

斯里蘭卡的佛教藝術與建築曾於康提時期迎來復興，此尊造像便於此時期由宮廷藝師打造。Kirti Sri Rajasinha國王（1747-82年在位）開創其朝代造型抽象簡潔、表面富麗華美的藝術風格，一改先前注重理想體型塑造的傳統。佛像近似渾圓的頭部十分特別，其應為一組罕見佛像中最為精美的一尊，其頭部的塑造或為供養人的刻意選擇，或為呼應斯里蘭卡上座部佛教經典（例如《佛說水沫所漂經》）之典故，即佛陀降生於太陽族，故以圓表太陽。其他康提時期帶有相似面容之銅像可見施羅德所著《Buddhist Sculptures in Sri Lanka》，香港，1990年，頁531，編號168G，以及鳳凰城美術館所出版《Guardian of the Flame》，鳳凰城，2003年，頁147。本造像特別的半圓狀雙耳亦可見於裏提寺（Ridi Vihara）及Vattarama Rajamahavihara寺廟之木、磚石及陶土所製大型佛陀坐像（分別見前述施羅德著作，頁491及197，編號150D及153D）。

來源
美國私人珍藏，1957年或以前
後由家族傳承