A gilt-copper figure of Hevajra, Nepal or Tibet, 14th / 15th century | 尼泊爾或藏西 十四 / 十五世紀 鎏金銅喜金剛像

Collection of Claude de Marteau (1935-2016), Brussels, in the 1970s.

Bonhams Hong Kong, 6th October 2023, lot 36.

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克勞德‧德‧馬圖(1935-2016)收藏，布魯塞爾，1970年代

香港邦瀚斯，2023年10月6日，編號36

This complex gilt copper grouping depicts the sixteen-armed, eight-headed, and four-legged Hevajra in union with his consort Vajra Nairatmya, with two of his four legs trampling figures on the pedestal, the secondary legs raised behind in a dancing posture. The deities are framed by a flaming aureole with an inner band of human skulls. Two kneeling attendants appear towards the front of the dais. The pedestal represents the natural rounded form of a lotus flower with stamens encircling the obconical receptacle and shoots with smaller flower heads growing from the stem, all emerging from a scrolling vine and stepped base.

The hair of the gods is painted red according to iconographic convention and a likely indication that this Nepalese style sculpture was worshiped in a Tibetan context, where such pigments are often ritually applied. The Newar aesthetic was widespread in Tibet, especially in the Khasa Malla kingdom where Hevajra was popular: compare the style of two Khasa Malla Hevajras in Ian Alsop, 'The Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Malla Kingdom', Orientations, June 1994, pp 61-68, figs 5 and 6. Hevajra was a principal mediation deity for the Sakya order, and monasteries such as Ngor often commissioned work from Nepalese artists. It is likely that this jewel-like statue was made as a personal meditation aid for a Khasa Malla or Tibetan Sakya order patron.

此尊鎏金銅喜金剛立像結構繁縟、鑄造精緻，呈現密教主尊喜金剛與其明妃金剛無我母（Vajra Nairātmya）之雙身法相。主尊具八面、十六臂與四足，前足踐踏人形，後足抬起作舞姿，立於雙層蓮台之上。主尊與明妃共處一焰光背內，背光內緣飾以人首骨帶，威赫莊嚴。蓮台前方另有雙膝跪地之侍者，構圖嚴謹對稱。蓮座採自然蓮花形式，中部倒圓錐形花托環繞花蕊，莖葉盤繞間綻出蓓蕾，下承多層階式座台，層次井然。

主尊與明妃髮部施以朱紅彩繪，符合密教造像圖像學之傳統，亦顯示此像雖具尼泊爾風格，然實為西藏地區禮供所用。藏地密教像於灌頂開光儀軌中，常見施以彩料以彰顯神力與威儀。尼泊爾工匠所鑄之密教造像自十三至十四世紀於藏區流行，尤以卡薩王國（Khasa Malla）時期為盛，喜金剛信仰尤為顯著。參見 Ian Alsop 文章所載卡薩王國兩例喜金剛造像：https://www.asianart.com/articles/khasa/index.html，圖5與圖6。喜金剛為薩迦派本尊之一，該派寺院如俄爾寺（Ngor）等，多聘尼泊爾匠人鑄像以資供奉。此尊尺寸雖小，然作工精緻、構圖嚴整，應為卡薩王國或薩迦派施主所委製，用於個人修持觀想之所依。