Auction Information

Description

The trend of worshipping Buddhism was prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, and the three emperors Kang, Yong, and Gan had profound Buddhist knowledge and beliefs. In addition, with the prosperity of the country, the creation of Buddha statues in the palace was flourishing during these three dynasties. The Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty pioneered the creation of Buddhist statues in the court, inheriting the characteristics of Ming Dynasty statues and creating a new style of Qing Dynasty statues. Throughout the history of Chinese court Buddhist statue art, the Qing Kangxi court statues have a pivotal position as a bridge between the past and the future. The materials are luxurious, regardless of cost, and the craftsmanship is meticulous. Their outstanding quality represents the highest level of Qing court statues. This rare bronze gilded statue of Shakyamuni Buddha made by the Qing Kangxi Palace can be regarded as a masterpiece among the palace statues of the Qing Dynasty. This Shakyamuni Buddha's right hand droops with a touchdown seal and the left hand bears a meditation seal, reproducing the great moment of Buddha's victory over Morra and obtaining the Buddha's fruit over 2500 years ago. At that time, the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree in the east and made a firm determination, as strong as Vajra, vowing to maintain a meditative posture until he fully understood the truth and achieved the supreme Buddha's fruit. At this moment, Morra led three witches to him and made various temptations to distract the Buddha, in order to hinder him from realizing the truth in the world. And the Buddha remained unmoved by all the temptations that attempted to undermine his pursuit of ideals. According to traditional records, Morra launched his final offensive in an attempt to shake the Buddha's determination. Morra questioned the Buddha's pursuit of spiritual awakening and his ultimate liberation from reincarnation. At this critical moment of enlightenment, Shakyamuni Buddha, who was sitting in a meditative position, moved his right hand on his knee, touched the earth with his index finger, and said, "The earth is my witness." At this moment, the gods of heaven and earth emerged one after another, shouting in unison, "We are willing to testify." Upon seeing this, the demon, demon army, and demon woman scattered and fled, leaving the Buddha alone in the Vajra seat under the Bodhi tree to continue their great enlightenment. So, there was a Buddha in the world. This unique statue of Shakyamuni Buddha is undoubtedly the largest and most important gilded bronze statue of the Qing Kangxi Palace in the field of circulation. The Buddha sat cross legged on a double lotus throne, with a graceful and slender figure. While strictly following the Buddha's image and measuring scriptures, he also incorporated the natural style of realism. The Buddha's posture is upright, with a straight shoulder line and a raised chest, adding a strong and majestic aura to the round and gentle appearance of the Central Plains Buddha statue. Observing the Buddha's face, it is plump and moderate, with symmetrical facial features and relatively beautiful. Eyes slightly open, looking down, with a calm and peaceful expression. The shape of the eyes is realistic, with the upper eyelids forming a beautiful arc, the tail of the eyes slightly raised, and a smooth engraved line above the eyelids to emphasize. It is worth noting that this gently undulating and exquisitely shaped eye shape deeply embodies the characteristics of the Kangxi Dynasty statue, which is completely different from the later Qianlong Dynasty statue. This statue has a pointed downward hairline on its forehead, with curved sides, which further highlights the dignified and beautiful face of the Buddha; The meat bun is nearly spherical, with a peach shaped pearl on top. Both the meat bun and the pearl are taller than the Qianlong Buddha statue. This hairline, bun, and pearl design are also the distinctive features of the imperial bronze statues of Emperor Kangxi. Please refer to the first year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, where the bronze gilded lantern Buddha was made (Figure 1). This is in the collection of the Rhode Island Academy of Art and Design in the United States. Please refer to Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, page 23, and figure 27. The Buddha clothing of the Kangxi Palace Buddha statue draws on the characteristics of Ming Dynasty statues, with smooth lines and a sense of textile drapery. Yin carved patterns are commonly used on the edges and corners of the Buddha clothing. This Buddha is dressed in a right shoulder style Tian Xiang robe, with a long skirt tied around his waist. The pleats of the garment fit the structure of his body, and the curves are like flowing clouds and flowing water. The distribution of the lines is beautiful, and the shape is three-dimensional and dynamic, fully expressing the soft and drooping texture of the fabric. The patterns on the legs are radiating and spread out on the top surface of the lotus throne. The fabric spreads and stretches like waves to both sides, presenting a solemn and tranquil atmosphere like in the Pure Land of Brahma. This piece of clothing is carved with intricate patterns, depicting various flowers such as lotus and peony in full bloom with delicate and elegant lines. This exquisite rolled leaf vine pattern and blooming petals are commonly seen in official kiln porcelain of the same period. Please refer to the collection of the Palace Museum, the blue enamel colored peony patterned bowl made by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the collection of the Taipei Palace Museum, and the yellow enamel colored peony patterned bowl made by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. In addition to being rich in the characteristics of the Kangxi Palace, another characteristic of this Buddha's clothing decoration is that it has a rich variety of flowers, a large number, and different postures without repetition; The knife technique is agile, showcasing the beauty of elegance in a rigorous and delicate manner. It is both magnificent and full of vitality, presenting the richness and magnificence of top-notch palace art with extreme craftsmanship. This lotus throne is the highest ranking among the Buddhist statues in the Kangxi Palace, surrounded by three continuous bead patterns, with one decoration on the upper edge, one on the waist, and one on the lower edge; The front of the lotus seat is trapezoidal, relatively wide, and the double layered lotus petals are full, wide, and fat, highlighting the grandeur and grandeur of the entire image; The lotus petals are divided into two layers, with a higher raised inner layer. The tips of the petals are decorated with three cloud patterns, which are three-dimensional and vivid; The edges on both sides of the inner and outer lotus petals are decorated with rolled grass patterns, showcasing the grandeur of decoration. The same type of lotus throne can only be found in Kangxi imperial statues with a year engraved on them. Please refer to the copper gilded four armed Guanyin statue of Kangxi in the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Palace Museum (Figure 2), and the copper gilded Shakyamuni Buddha statue of Kangxi in the 20th year in the Vienna Anthropology Museum. The auspicious cloud head on the back of this lotus throne protrudes from above, with a deep and three-dimensional edge, which is different from the cloud head light on the flat surface of the Qianlong Dynasty statue. This is another characteristic of the Kangxi Palace statue. Please refer to the 2018 spring photo of the Rockefeller family's old collection of the Qing Kangxi Emperor's copper gilded immeasurable longevity Buddha by Christie's in New York (Figure 3). The statue of the Buddha and the double layered lotus throne were cast separately from brass and then combined, which is a typical technique for casting giant statues in the early Qing Dynasty; The copper tire is thick and heavy, with only the bottom edge thickness reaching 15 millimeters, and the overall image weight reaching 106.6 kilograms; The gilding is thicker and has a bright yellow color, which is different from the cold golden color used in statues during the Qianlong period. It is bright and pleasing to the eye, indicating luxurious materials and cost saving, which is completely different from the phenomenon of cutting corners in Buddha statues in the late Qing Dynasty. The three bead patterns on the lotus seat are also cast separately from the lotus seat. There are a total of 521 consecutive beads, each of which is a spherical shape with a diameter of about 8 millimeters. They are single solid castings, and after being gilded, they are welded to the lotus seat one by one to achieve the effect of round and smooth beads, tight seams, and strong visual impact. This is an unprecedented technological innovation in the Kangxi court's statue making, and also one of the characteristics of the Kangxi court's statue making. According to statistics, there are only six surviving bronze gilded Buddha statues made by the Kangxi court in the world, with a size greater than 50 centimeters. Among them, three are preserved in museums, including the Palace Museum's collection of the Guanyin statue with four arms from the 25th year of the Kangxi reign, the Rhode Island Academy Art Museum's collection of the first year of the Kangxi reign, the Burning Lamp Buddha, and the Vienna Anthropology Museum's collection of the 20th year of the Kangxi reign; There are only three statues that have appeared in the circulation field, except for the one currently auctioned at Jiade. The other two statues are Lot3060 Qing Kangxi Copper Gilded Shakyamuni Buddha from Sotheby's Spring Auction in Hong Kong in 2011 (Figure 4), and Lot3626 Qing Kangxi Copper Gilded Infinite Life Buddha from Sotheby's Autumn Auction in Hong Kong in 2018 (Figure 5). Among them, the Shakyamuni Buddha, which was filmed at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in 2011, has only two consecutive bead patterns on the lotus throne, and the outer edge of the lotus petals is not decorated with patterns. The Buddha's clothing patterns are also simplified compared to the standard tools used in Kangxi Palace statues; And the copper tire is relatively thin, with cracks on the neck. In 2018, the copper gilded Infinite Life Buddha, captured in Hong Kong, unfortunately lost its base and hat crown. Compared to these three statues, Jiade has unique advantages in craftsmanship, appearance, and artistic quality.