A Closer Look
A magnificent figure of
Virupaksha
丹薩替西方天王像
This large gilt copper alloy figure of Virupaksha – the star lot of our Images of Devotion auction on 1 December in Hong Kong – would have stood before one of the eight tashi gomang stupas of Densatil monastery, one of the great artistic wonders of Tibet.
As the Buddhist Guardian of the West, Virupaksha guarded a stupa with three other Heavenly Kings, each overseeing a direction.
He now stands alone as the only intact Densatil Heavenly King still in private hands.
The Heavenly Kings appear prominently in Buddhist sutras concerning just rule and state protection that were especially influential throughout East Asia. It is clear from their earliest depiction in Tibet, in the 8th century, that Tibetans were keen to adopt the armour-clad, warrior-like appearance of how these divine kings were already depicted in Central Asia and China.
Perhaps more than any other subject, their imagery makes explicit the centuries-old cultural and artistic exchange between China and Tibet.
此尊西方廣目天王之像氣勢雄渾，曾經矗立於西藏最奇偉瑰麗的藝術勝景之一 — 丹薩替寺八座吉祥多門塔之前。其時另有三方天王與之比肩而立，鎮守四方。
「能說正法修行正法，為世法王以法治世」，其護持佛法與國治，於東亞之佛教典籍中尤為顯要。上溯至公元八世紀，此身被重甲之武士形象已可見於中原及中亞，其時之藏人則熱切地將其融入喜馬拉雅眾神之殿。數百年後，此像或成為中原與西藏間文化、藝術彼此映照而影響至數載之深刻的見證。此像為迄今有所記載之丹薩替天王像之最高，誕生於丹薩替藝術傳承之巔峰，彼時統治此地之尊貴家族權力達其至盛。
香港邦瀚斯將於12月1日舉行之誠虔韻映拍賣會欣然呈現此至寶，為如今唯一為私人所藏之丹薩替天王像。
Virupaksha’s plump features and stout build are fashioned after the great generals of the Tang dynasty, where the prevailing archetype for depicting the Heavenly Kings was established.
Billowing fabrics, adding movement to the sculptural composition, can be traced back to Tang depictions at the Yulin Caves around the time Buddhism was first introduced to Tibet.
Virupaksha wears a highly ornamented, engraved coat of lamellar armour. Sported by The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang, lamellar armour appeared in ancient China before the common era and remained in popular use in Tibet and China until the Qing dynasty.
The armour is secured over the shoulders with crisply cast with ruyi clasps.
Freckled leonine lappets cover his shoulders, and support dating the sculpture to the early 15th century alongside contemporaneous Ming scroll paintings and Tibetan thangkas of the divine kings.
The Virupaksha is one of just two surviving Densatil guardians featuring a large lapis lazuli plaque centred within the harness. The remains of a carefully hewn Chinese dragon betray a Tibetan affinity with the Yuan Mongols for carving in precious materials.
A luxurious cloak worn underneath the armoured coat is chased with abundant upward-striving cloud patterns, following the Yuan penchant for the motif.
Similar quatrefoil cloud patterns engraved within Virupaksha’s exquisitely cast knee pads are painted on the walls of another Central Tibetan monastery, Shalu, which underwent a major renovation supported by the Yuan emperor Chengzong (r. 1294-1307).
The Virupaksha’s imposing presence, dynamic posture, and windswept sashes epitomise the expressive vitality for which tashi gomang Densatil sculptures are so highly regarded.
After Densatil monastery was destroyed in the second half of the 20th century, only 16 of these guardians survived intact.
Of those, just four (including this Virupaksha) left Mainland China. The other three are now in world-renowned museum collections. Twice the size of any other free-standing sculpture from these extraordinary stupas, this Virupaksha is, by some measure, the grandest Densatil gilt bronze figure still in private hands.
This large gilt copper alloy figure of Virupaksha will come under the hammer in Images of Devotion auction on 1 December in Hong Kong.
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