A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHASOUTH INDIA, NAGAPATTINAM, 12TH/13TH CENTURY
19 cm (7 1/2 in.) high注脚Relatively large for its category, this quintessential Nagapattinam bronze depicts Buddha with his hands abhaya and varada mudras offering reassurance and charity. He wears a sheer robe with concentric pleats and has broad facial features below a flame representing his enlightened consciousness. The sculpture compares favorably to twelve examples of the same style and period acquired by the British Museum in 1928, of which the three largest are about the same height (1928,1016.2, 3, & 4).

Located on Tamil Nadu's coast, Nagapattinam was the preeminent site of Buddhist artistic production in medieval South India. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, Nagapattinam was also a central port of international trade extending to the West and China. The city's close trade relationship with China resulted in Hindu temples being erected in Quanzhou and a Chinese temple erected in Nagapattinam (Guy, "The Lost Temples of Nagapattinam and Quanzhou", in Silk Road Art and Archeology, vol.3, Kamakura, 1993/4, pp.291-310).

Provenance
Collection of Siddharth K. Bhansali, New Orleans
Acquired in London between 1978-83


佛陀銅像
印度南部，納加帕蒂南，十二或十三世紀
高19釐米（7 1/2英吋）

150,000-250,000港幣

本尊出自納加帕蒂南之銅像較同類造像體量稍大。佛陀並施無畏印與予願印，予眾生信心與慈愛。其身穿輕薄長衣，垂落成同心圓般的層層水波細紋；五官明顯，頭頂升起象徵開悟證道之智焰。本尊造像可與大英博物館於1928年入藏的十二件同一風格與時期之造像相較，其中體量最大的三件高度與本拍品幾乎一致（編號1928,1016.2，1928,1016.3及1928,1016.4）。

坐落於泰米爾納德邦海岸，中世紀時納加帕蒂南為南印度重要的佛教藝術產地。在十世紀與十三世紀間，納加帕蒂南亦是連接西方與中國的國際貿易中樞港口。在該城市與中國密切的貿易往來背景下，中國泉州出現了印度教寺廟，而納加帕蒂南亦建起了漢傳佛教寺廟（Guy，〈The Lost Temples of Nagapattinam and Quanzhou〉，收入《Silk Road Art and Archeology》，卷三，鎌倉市，1993/4年，頁291-310）。

來源
Siddharth K. Bhansali珍藏，新奧爾良
1978至1983年間購於倫敦