A BRONZE FIGURE OF JAMBHALA, TIBET, PALA STYLE Central Tibet, 12^th - 13^th century or somewhat later (see expert's note for additional remarks on dating). Seated in royal ease on a double-lotus base with beaded rims, the lower of which is particularly distinctive and a clear characteristic of the Pala style. His hands are held in karana mudra, with the proper right offering a bijapuraka fruit of three-lobed form as if partly peeled. His right foot is resting on a lotus pedestal issuing from the lower rim of the base. He is wearing a tight-fitting dhoti as well as a garland of lotus flowers, and is richly adorned with beaded jewelry. His face with almond-shaped eyes below thick ridges brows centered by a raised urna, his full lips forming a subtle smile. The hair piled up into a high chignon behind the foliate tiara.

Provenance: From a noted French private collection.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, casting flaws, some dents and nicks, light scratches. Fine, naturally grown patina with a warm brass tone overall. The base filled with a fragment of consecrated silk.

Weight: 674.8 g
Dimensions: Height 12.5 cm

The present figure of Jambhala belongs to a group of early Tibetan sculpture drawing inspiration from Northeastern Indian Pala bronzes. They were created during a time of prolific cultural exchange between the monastic universities of Northeastern India and Central Tibet. Between the 10^th and 12^th centuries, Tibetan pilgrims in search of the "pure" form of Buddhism in the land of Buddha's enlightenment were so moved by the philosophical teachings and material culture at monasteries like Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar that they sought to replicate it in their own culture. This transmission is known as the Chidar.

In this period, new monastic orders were created around the teachings of the Tibetan translator Marpa (1012-1096) and Indian masters, such as Atisha (982-1054), Padmasambhava (8th century), and Virupa (9th century) - namely the Kagyupa, Kadampa, Nyingmapa, and Sakya orders, respectively. And just as Indian monastic structures and teachings composed much of the foundation of Tibetan Buddhism, so too Pala sculpture formed the crucible from which much of Tibetan art developed.

Out of this phase of 'apprenticeship' of Northeastern India, Tibetan sculpture matured to develop its own distinct styles. Yet the Pala legacy lingered and reverberated throughout Tibetan history, the Indian arhats and mahasiddas remaining key figures in all lineages. In the 18th century, the Pala style was introduced and revitalized at the Chinese court. A devout Gelugpa Buddhist, the Qianlong emperor collected and reproduced Pala and Tibetan Pala-style bronzes. The Qing Palace Collection contains at least sixteen Pala 10^th - 12^th century examples and sixteen Tibetan Pala-style 12^th - 13^th century bronzes. From these prototypes, the emperor commissioned numerous copies, ushering in a sub-school of Qing Buddhist bronzes known as Pala Revival.

Jambhala, primarily known as the God of Wealth, is one of the most popularly worshipped deities in Tibetan Buddhism, propitiated in order to avoid the mundane distractions of ensuring sustenance so that practitioners can focus on their spiritual training. Here, a skilled craftsman has represented the deity in his full, corpulent glory, symbolic of the abundance Jambhala is able to grant.

Expert's note: This bronze's sculptor was clearly well-versed in the idioms of the artistic tradition from Northeastern India under the Pala Empire (8^th - 12^th centuries). Various elements reflect Indian prototypes, including the tall chignon, the crown's projecting side ribbons, the jewelry design, and the base's beaded rims. A Pala stone stele of Jambhala in the Dallas Museum of Art (1995.78) clearly demonstrates the artist's familiarity. This lot, however, is being sold as 12^th - 13^th century or somewhat later, because scholarly opinions on Tibetan Pala-style bronzes are generally divided, and some would contend that this bronze was produced as late as the 18^th century. Since the scientific research on the subject is still ongoing, we would like to express our respect for both schools of thought, thus widening the dating range to a larger extent than we normally do.

Literature comparison:
For the Tibetan Pala-style 12^th-13^th-century bronzes in the Qing Palace Collection, see Zangchuan fojiao zaoxiang-Gugong bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji (Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum: Tibetan Buddhist Sculptures), Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 110-3, 115-23, 128-9, and 131-2, nos. 105-8, 105-17, 122-3, and 125-6.



帕拉風格五姓財神銅像
西藏中部，十二至十三世紀或稍晚（見關於斷代問題的專家注釋）。五姓財神頭戴五葉寶冠，矮小凸腹，雙臂勁力，以如意姿安坐在連珠紋雙層蓮座上，連珠紋是帕拉風格的明顯特徵。雙手結羯剌拏手印，右手前伸，送出如意果；左足屈盘，右足下伸擱在小蓮花座上，濃眉大眼，面露微笑，頭髮成一個高髮髻。

來源：法國知名收藏。
品相：狀況極好，大面積磨損、輕微損失、鑄造缺陷、一些凹痕和刻痕。細膩的包漿，整體帶有溫暖的黃銅色調。底座内裝了一塊黃色綢緞。

重量：674.8 克
尺寸：高12.5 厘米

這件銅像屬於一批早期藏族造像，受印度東北部的帕拉銅器風格影響，這種風格是在印度東北部和西藏中部的寺院之間文化交流時期產生的。在十世紀到十二世紀之間，西藏朝聖者在佛陀開悟的土地上尋找“純粹”的佛教形式，被比哈爾邦那爛陀寺和維克拉姆希拉寺等寺院的哲學教義和物質文化所觸動。

在此期間，圍繞西藏翻譯馬爾巴（1012-1096）和印度大師如阿底峽（982-1054）、蓮花生大士（八世紀）和毘盧巴（九世紀）的教義創建了新的派別——即噶舉派、噶當派、寧瑪派和薩迦派。正如印度寺院的結構和教義構成了藏傳佛教的大部分基礎一樣，帕拉造像也奠定了西藏藝術發展的基礎。

西藏造像風格逐漸成熟，形成了自己風格。 然而，帕拉風格的影響在整個西藏歷史中揮之不去，印度阿羅漢和大成就者仍然是所有傳承中的關鍵人物。十八世紀，帕拉風格在中國宮廷被引入和復興。虔誠的格魯派佛教徒，乾隆皇帝收集並製作了帕拉和西藏帕拉風格的青銅器。清宮藏品中至少有十六件來自十至十二世紀的帕拉式，和十六件來自十二至十三世紀的藏式帕拉式青銅器。以此為摹本，皇帝委託製作了許多造像，迎來了清代佛教造像中的一個流派，稱為帕拉復興。

藏巴拉作為財富之神，是藏傳佛教中最廣受敬拜的神袛之一。信徒們虔誠地供奉藏巴拉，祈求他們無需為衣食生計碌碌勞苦，因而得以潛心佛道。遵循著這種信仰，一位技藝出眾的匠師製作了此尊極盡富麗之氣的銅像，其華貴與福態正像徵藏巴拉能夠賜予無盡財富之意。

專家注釋：自風格而言，匠師無疑深諳印度東北部帕拉王朝（公元八至十二世紀）藝術傳統，藏巴拉多處細節皆可印證此種印度特徵，如高高聳起的髮髻、寶冠旁的髮帶、珠寶之造型以及蓮花座之連珠紋等等。可藉達拉斯藝術博物館所藏一件帕拉時期財神石碑（編號 1995.78）一觀，財神渾圓的手部、大圓環式耳飾以及右足下圓鼓鼓的錢袋，皆與本拍品十分相似。然而，這件拍品在被出售時，斷代為十二至十三世紀或更晚。因為學術界對西藏帕拉風格青銅器的看法普遍存在分歧，有些人認為這件造像是在十八世紀製作的。由於該主題的科學研究仍在進行中，我們尊重兩種思想流派的尊重，從而像往常一樣在更大程度上擴大約會範圍。

文獻比較：
一件清宮收藏的十二至十三世紀西藏帕拉風格銅像，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品‧藏傳佛教造像》，香港，2008年，頁110-3，115-23，128-9，和131-2，編號105-8，105-17，122-3，和125-6。