![]() Yang Xuanzhi’s Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Luoyang, dated 547, describes one of the most lavish such altars, Yongning Temple. ![]() 10 Some of the gilt bronzes in these hoards were originally part of altar assemblages, like four images in the Swergold Collection (lots 3515, 3516, 35), figures standing on lotuses with small shafts projecting from the bottom to slot into the proper position. Hundreds of small gilt bronzes dating from the Northern Dynasties through the Tang dynasty were sometimes buried within the grounds of what were once temple compounds or nunneries long ago destroyed during periods of political chaos or Buddhist persecutions. Although there are texts describing monumental gilt bronze Buddhas in temples, and a very few survived such as the 55½ inch Maitreya in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, most Buddhist images were cast in highly portable sizes. In addition, gilt bronzes were often melted down to recover the valuable metals the remains of scraped-off gilding can often be seen on small and large stone statues that originally had extensive gilded embellishments. Unlike sculpture and painting in monumental Buddhist cave temples carved out of mountain sides, these small gilt bronzes have been separated from their original contexts. Researching and studying Buddhist gilt bronzes offers significant challenges. 7 Dated 544, the Eastern Wei (535-550) standing Padmapani bodhisattva (lot 3515) retains strong connections to sensual Indian forms at the same time, the pointed pectoral at the neck may have been derived from nomadic cultures in Mongolia since it is found extensively on bodhisattvas in the caves at Yungang and in nomadic burials in Mongolia. 6 The origin of distinctive style has been debated by scholars as an innovation of the Northern Wei or influenced by earlier Southern Buddhist examples. 5 Although dated 539, five years after the collapse of the Northern Wei, this seated Buddha (lot 3503) presents the iconic sculptural form of pointed cascading drapery and tied sash that is considered a totally Sinicized style that occurs in the early 6th century at the Longmen Cave temples opened by the Northern Wei. A similar technique survives into the early 6th century on some Shaanxi stone steles. Strikingly simple and repetitive parallel lines of lot 3501 define the Amitabha Buddha’s golden aura and infinite light the articulation of the drapery seems to resonate with Gandhara prototypes. With the intersection of multiple cultural influences, it is often difficult to clearly identify direct sources. ![]() These three figures from the earliest group (lots 3501, 35) express some of the challenging aspects of these evolving sculptural forms. An extremely rare large inscribed bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha Western Wei dynasty, dated 539 | Estimate 5,000,000 - 7,000,000 HKD ![]()
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