STATUETTE DE SHRI DEVI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉPAR 'SOGYAL', PROBABLEMENT SONAM GYALTSEN (A. XVE SIÈCLE),TIBET CENTRAL, MONASTÈRE DE DENSATIL, VERS 1431-35A Tibetan inscription on the rim of the base: དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ་སྲོག་སྒྲུབ་སྐུ། བསོད་རྒྱལ་ལག་པད་རྩེ་ལས་སྤྲུལ། ;pal den lha mo srog sgrub sku. bsod rgyal lag pad rtse las sprul;'The Shri Devi Life-Accomplishment sculpture, made by the hand of Sogyal.'Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1829 37.5 cm (14 3/4 in.) high
Footnotes:
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHRI DEVI BY 'SOGYAL', PROBABLY SONAM GYALTSEN (A. 15TH CENTURY), CENTRAL TIBET, DENSATIL MONASTERY, CIRCA 1431-35
Published Spink & Son Ltd., The Art of Nepal and Tibet, London, 1979, p. 23, no. 55. Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 428, no. 187. Duojie Renqing & Xiong Wenbin, 'Exploratory Research on the 15th-century Tibetan Artist Sle'u Sonam Gyaltsen and His Styles', in Meishu Daguan, 2021, no. 11, pp. 86-7, fig. 13.
Exhibited Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 —19 February 2017.
Provenance Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1979
The Speelman Shri Devi
The Speelman Shri Devi is an exceptional Densatil sculpture, both for its high quality of craftsmanship and exceptional state of preservation. Each of Densatil monastery's eight tashi gomang shrines, created over a period of 167 years, are said to have featured upwards of 2,000 deities in relief panels and free-standing sculpture. It is reasoned that multiple metal-casting workshops would have worked on a single shrine, particularly those that historical sources indicate were erected in relatively short order or when constructions might have occurred simultaneously. Such circumstances could explain why not all Densatil sculptures are made to the same standard. It can also be said of the corpus of remaining Densatil sculpture that aesthetic considerations of balance, agility, and refinement seem secondary to heft and vitality, and Densatil figures can at times appear a little brutish. This is not so with the Speelman Shri Devi.
Among the sculpture's many artistic virtues, Shri Devi's feet and toes are modelled slightly flexed astride her donkey. The animal is alert, well-groomed, and approachable. Flailing sashes draped across the beast show complex pleats and fine stippling in floral patterns. In her left hand, a magical wealth-generating mongoose disgorges a flourish of inset semiprecious stones and a Chinese ingot (yuan bao). Her earrings contain a finely cast coiled snake and a perched snow lion. This goddess is often depicted in Tibetan art with a more terrifying and gruesome affect, but here, there is a marked buoyancy about Shri Devi and her ensemble of mythical creatures. Regarding condition, Densatil monastery's destruction in the 20th century, involving the use of dynamite, resulted in many issues such as breaks, cracks, extensive losses, and stripped gilding (or regilding) among the relatively small number of sculptures that survived. The Speelman Shri Devi stands out in this respect as well, having retained most of its elements and its shimmering, wonderfully preserved, thick layer of original gilding.
The goddess Shri Devi is the earliest and most important female protector deity of Vajrayana Buddhism. As such, she is found in early Tibetan painting alongside Mahakala—her male counterpart. They are a pair and often found together in the Sanskrit source literature. In modern times, it is often said that there are twenty-one forms of Shri Devi, but this appears to be an attempt to organize the many variants of the goddess. Shri Devi is not a single entity with various forms but rather a category of deity with a number of different entities appearing as, designated as such, and functioning as a Shri Devi. The two most common entities that take this wrathful appearance are Lakshmi and Sarasvati, as they are understood from a Buddhist rather than Hindu perspective. In the early development of the Vajrayana Buddhist pantheon, much was borrowed and adapted from the popular Hindu gods of classical Indian literature.
Most of the earliest Tibetan sculpture of Shri Devi was created at Densatil monastery from the late 13th century through to the mid-15th century. Densatil was constructed around the hermitage and final resting place of Phagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110-70), who was regarded by his followers as an incarnation of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Phagdru Kagyu, an eponymous sect that formed around him, became Tibet's preeminent order in the 14th and early 15th centuries. As Densatil's wealth and political power grew, the order constructed in its main hall eight incredible stupa-like shrines, known as tashi gomang ('many doors of auspiciousness') upon which the reliquaries of certain abbots were placed. These multi-tiered structures were covered in Buddhist gilt bronze sculptures and relief panels depicting Tantric deities and mandala retinues at an altogether astonishing scale.
Each tashi gomang shrine had six tiers, with only minor iconographic changes evolving over time. The tiers were arranged according to Buddhist hierarchy, with the teachers and Buddhas at the top and with deities below arranged in accord with the four different categories of Tantric literature. The lowest tier depicted protector deities, wealth deities and worldly figures, including indigenous Tibetan mountain gods and spirits. The protector deities represented comprised four forms of Mahakala and four forms of Shri Devi. Based on a 14th-century Tibetan text cataloging the deities from one of the Densatil tashi gomang shrines, the four variations of Shri Devi were, 'Seventeen-Headed' in the north, Dhumavati in the south, 'Naked Riding a Black Donkey' in the west, and 'Life Accomplishment' in the East–the form represented by the present sculpture (cf., Luczanits, 'Mandalas of Mandalas: The Iconography of a Stupa of Many Auspicious Doors for Phagmodrupa,' in Tibetan Art and Architecture in Context, PIATS 2006, published 2010, pp. 281–310).
The 'Life Accomplishment' Shri Devi is wrathful in appearance with one face, three eyes, and a raging expression. She has four arms and holds a sword, butcher's stick, mirror, and a jewel-spitting mongoose. Wearing a necklace of freshly severed heads, she sits atop a human skin and a donkey. (Both donkey and mule are the common mounts for the different forms of the goddess.) On the proper right side is a lion earring. On the left side is a snake earring. The earrings can alternate depending on the form of the Shri Devi being described and are regarded as an important element of her iconography.
For Tibetans, Shri Devi originates from Sanskrit Buddhist literature, with a few descriptions found in the Twenty-Five- and Fifty-Chapter Mahakala Tantras, but several additional forms of Shri Devi were imagined and added to the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. The majority of the additional manifestations were products of the Nyingma tradition of Tibet, which introduced new forms and teachings through its practice of 'Revealed Treasure' and 'Pure Vision' revelations. Currently there are at least a dozen known sculptures of Shri Devi from the shrines of Densatil monastery, and they include some of these Nyingma-derived forms.
Densatil sculpture has provided a tremendous amount of Buddhist iconographic knowledge on a host of different topics and subjects. The examples of Shri Devi are of particular importance because they are the earliest Tibetan works and additionally represent rare indigenous examples.
Following Estournel's comprehensive stylistic analysis of Densatil sculpture, the Speelman Shri Devi finds the closest parity with sculptures being assigned to the penultimate tashi gomang stupa, erected in 1431-2. For example, the feet, figural proportions, facial type, jewelry, and gilding correspond to that of a figure of the mahasiddha Saraha now in the Capital Museum, Beijing (Jean-Luc Estournel, 'About the 18 Stupas and Other Treasures Once at the Densatil Monastery', in asianart.com, 2020, fig. 293). Moreover, Shri Devi's fringe of curls, the sophisticated pleating of her sash, the chasing, and the exact treatment of the foliate crown leaves compare to that of a Mahakala sculpture now in the Rubin Museum of Art (ibid., figs. 265 & 311; HAR 65208). Furthermore, a Vajravarahi sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 1 December 2023, lot 1813 has corresponding physiognomy and a matching double-strand garland of severed heads (fig.1).
The inscription on the front of the present sculpture is of particular interest. It reads in translation, 'the form of Shri Devi Life Accomplishment', and ends with the contracted name of Sonam Gyaltsen ('Sogyal'; bsod rgyal). Although not a rare occurrence to have a name inscribed on the base of a sculpture, it is however rare to have an artist's name on a Densatil monastery sculpture. A master artist by the name of Sonam Gyaltsen was recently identified through inscription to have produced a gilded masterpiece of Avalokiteshvara for a Sakya monastery in the Shigatse region of Central Tibet, c. 1430 (fig. 2; for more information, see Watt in Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033). On stylistic grounds, this Densatil Shri Devi appears to have been cast around the same time. While Sonam Gyaltsen was a popular name in Tibet by the 14th century, there are enough similarities in style and technique between these two sculptures to argue the artist listed in each inscription is one and the same. Duojie Renqing and Xiong Wenbin (2021, pp. 86-7) have recently presented a strong case for this. The authors also discuss primary Tibetan sources that may provide biographical information about the artist, including that he may have authored an aesthetic treatise, since lost. Similarities between other Densatil sculpture attributed to the 1430s and the Sonam Gyaltsen Avalokiteshvara have also been raised (Estournel, 2020, fig. 378). Moreover, it has been suggested for some time that the vassal relationship between the secular clans patronizing Densatil and Sakya projects in the Shigatse region may have facilitated an artistic exchange between these monasteries (Heller, Tibetan Art, 1999, no. 82; also see Bonhams, Hong Kong, 1 December 2023, lot 1812). Therefore, with research ongoing, it is more than plausible that this Densatil sculpture of Shri Devi was also made by one of the great sculptural masters of Tibetan art whose work is becoming more and more recognized by scholars, specialists, and collectors today.
Jeff WattJanuary 2024
For the figures listed in this essay, please refer to our printed or digital catalogue.
銅鎏金吉祥天母像 「索堅」所作 或為索南堅贊（活躍於十五世紀） 藏中 丹薩替 約1431-35年 底座下緣刻藏文銘文，意為「修生命吉祥天母像，出自索堅之手」
著錄 Spink & Son Ltd.，《The Art of Nepal and Tibet》，倫敦，1979年，頁23，編號55 Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁428，編號187 多傑仁青及熊文彬，〈對15世紀西藏著名藝術家來烏群巴 · 索南堅贊及其造像風格初探〉，《美術大觀》，2021年，期11，頁86-87，圖13
展覽 「Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces 」，弗爾克林根，2016 年 6 月 24 日至 2017 年 2 月 19 日
來源 Spink & Son Ltd.，倫敦，1979年
Speelman吉祥天母像
Speelman收藏中的此尊吉祥天母像是一件無與倫比的丹薩替寺傑作，無論自其高超的工藝成就還是絕佳的保存狀況看皆如此。丹薩替之八座吉祥多門塔在前後長達167年的時間裡建造完成，據說每一座都曾承載過2000尊各神祇之浮雕飾板以及立體造像。有理由相信，同一座靈塔之興造應需要多個不同金屬鑄造工坊一同工作，尤其是那些歷史資料表明於相對較短時間之內所建造之塔、或者那些可能是同時進行的建造工程。這種情況可以解釋為什麼並非所有丹薩替造像皆達至同樣標準。我們同樣可以說，存留至今的丹薩替造像群對於平衡、靈巧以及精緻之審美考量，似乎遜於對重量與動感之追求，因而丹薩替造像有時見些許粗獷。然而，此尊吉祥天母像並非如此。
在其諸多藝術成就中，吉祥天母腳和腳趾塑造曲張有力，側騎驢子，自然威武。坐騎聰慧警覺，毛髮梳理得宜，十分喜人。長帶飄飛，落於坐騎身前，展現出複雜的褶皺與細膩的裝飾花紋。在她的左手中，一隻富有法力的吐寶鼠吐出寶石，上嵌有半寶石，還可見元寶。其耳環亦鑄造精美，一側為一條細緻盤蛇，另一側為俯臥昂首的雪獅。這位護法女神在西藏藝術中常被表現為更加可怖駭人的面貌，然而，此尊吉祥天母與她一眾神話動物身上有一種明顯的輕盈感。論及其保存狀況，Speelman此尊吉祥天母像在這一維度上亦頗為罕見地保存絕大部分細節，以及光輝燦然的、保存完好的、厚重的原始鎏金。
吉祥天母為金剛乘佛教中最古老、最重要的女性護法神。由此，早期的西藏繪畫中便有吉祥天母與其所對應之男性護法神大黑天。二尊神祇成對，經常在梵文原典之文獻中一起出現。在現代語境中，通常認為吉祥天母有二十一種形象，但這似乎更應視為對這位女護法形象某些變化的總括。吉祥天母不是一個有多種化身的一個特定對象，而是一類包含了多位或外貌如此、或命名如此、或功能如此的眾多形象的一類神祇的總稱。最常見的兩尊具有這樣忿怒形象的是寶藏天女拉克什米以及辯才天女薩拉斯瓦蒂，此處二者應從佛教視角理解，而非印度教視角。在金剛乘佛教萬神殿的早期發展時期，諸多內容借用或改變自流行的印度古典文本中的印度教神祇。
最古老的吉祥天母西藏造像大多創造於丹薩替寺，自十三世紀晚期持續至十五世紀中期。丹薩替依帕木竹巴多吉傑布（1110-70）之修行和最終安息之地而建，其追隨者視其為釋迦牟尼轉世。圍繞其所形成之教派，又因其名而稱帕竹噶舉，成為西藏十四世紀至十五世紀早期間最顯赫的教派。隨著丹薩替之財富和政治力量崛起，此教派在其主殿內建造八座令人驚嘆的佛塔般的聖所，被稱為扎西戈芒（「吉祥多門」），其上供奉著某些住持之舍利聖物。這些多層結構被覆蓋以佛教銅鎏金造像以及浮雕飾板，呈現密宗神祇以及曼荼羅儀軌眾神，規模之龐大難以想像。 每一吉祥多門塔皆有六層，僅有隨著時間推移而產生的輕微的圖像學變化。佛塔層級按照佛教世界之等級結構佈局，最上層為上師與佛陀，向下四層神祇則對應密宗經典之四類而排列。最低層為護法神、財神以及世俗人物，例如本土的西藏山神與精靈。護法神則有四種形象之大黑天以及四種形象之吉祥天母。根據一篇十四世紀時對一座吉祥多門塔神祇所進行的說明性藏文文本，吉祥天母之四種變體分別為北方的「十七首女神」、南方的杜馬瓦蒂、西方的「騎驢天女」和東方的「修生命吉祥天母」——即本尊造像所代表的形式（參見Luczanits，〈Mandalas of Mandalas：The Iconography of a Stupa of Many Auspicious Doors for Phagmodrupa〉，in 《Tibetan Art and Architecture in Context》，PIATS 2006，出版於2010年，頁281–310）。
修生命吉祥天母為忿怒相形象，一面三眼，神情狂怒。她有四隻手臂，手持劍、屠夫棍、鏡子和一隻吐寶鼠。其佩戴一串新鮮頭顱長鍊，坐於人皮及一頭驢子上（驢子與騾子皆為這位女神不同形式之常見坐騎）。吉祥天母之右耳佩戴一枚獅子耳環，左耳則是一隻蛇樣耳環。根據吉祥天母被描述之形態不同，耳環可左右交替，亦被視為解讀其圖像學的重要元素。
根據Estournel對丹薩替造像所作的全面風格分析，Speelman藏吉祥天母與興歸於1431-2年建造的、八座靈塔中的倒數第二座之造像最為接近。例如，此造像之腳、人物比例、臉型、珠寶與鎏金皆與北京首都博物館藏一尊大成就者薩拉哈之造像遙相呼應（見Jean-Luc Estournel，〈About the 18 Stupas and Other Treasures Once at the Densatil Monastery〉，發表於asianart.com，2020年，圖293）。此外，吉祥天母之彎曲額髮、飄帶精緻褶皺、裝飾刻工以及對寶冠葉形裝飾的精準處理皆可與現藏於魯賓藝術博物館的一尊大黑天造像相較（同上，圖265 及 311，喜馬拉雅藝術資源網65208號）。此外，一尊金剛瑜伽母像與其具有十分近似的面容以及一條一致的雙鍊頭顱長鍊（圖1，邦瀚斯，香港，2023年12月1日，拍品1813）。
尤為值得關注的，是銅像前方底緣所刻銘文。銘文意為「修生命吉祥天母像」，並以「索南堅贊」之縮寫「索堅（Sogyal；bsod rgyal）」結束。儘管在造像底座上銘刻名字並非罕見，然而，丹薩替造像上刻藝術家名字一事卻是罕見的。近期，通過解讀一尊十一面千手觀音像所刻銘文，學者得以辨識出此位名為索南堅贊的藝術大師，於1430年左右為藏中日喀則地區一所薩迦派寺廟作此觀音像（圖2，參考Watt為此觀音所撰文，見邦瀚斯，紐約，2018年3月19日，拍品3033）。就風格而言，此尊丹薩替吉祥天母像與觀音像或是同一時期所鑄造。雖然在十四世紀，索南堅贊是一個西藏地區常見的名字，但這兩尊造像之間在風格與技術上展現出足夠的相似之處，以論證兩者&#... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
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Excellent condition overall, with partial losses to the tip of the figure's sword, as is visible in images. There are thin, shallow cracks, one running horizontally at the back of the figure's neck, a part of the base running horizontally nearest to the mule's recumbent front leg, and several smaller cracks running along the front lower edges of the base that are otherwise integrally stable. There are nicks to the figure's right cheekbone, the right side of her forehead, left breast, and to her two big toes. There are also dents which are most visible at the figure's right forearm, left wrist, and buttocks. Minor scratches intermittently throughout the surface. There are small, square-shaped repairs to casting flaws at the time of production, located at the middle of the figure's chest, stomach, and to the front of the base. Smoky black residue and embedded dust in recessed areas from exposure to temple lamps within the culture. Remains of red pigment in the hair and eyelids and white pigment in the pupils. The figure survives with a large, protruding tang and two holes located at the front lower edges of the base that would have originally affixed it to a larger structure, supporting that it was originally made for Densatil monastery. Comes with a custom-made stand.
Please contact Alvina Ang (Alvina.Ang@bonhams.com) for related condition report images and video.