A SCHIST FIGURE OF HARITI


ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, CIRCA 2ND CENTURYWith traces of ancient cinnabar pigments in recessed areas. 95 cm (37 1/2 in.) high
|For the first three quarters of the first millennium CE, Hariti was the principal female Buddhist deity of ancient Gandhara with widespread popularity throughout Central Asia and China. When the Chinese pilgrim, Yi Jing, visited Gandhara in 671, he saw sculptures of Hariti commonly installed near the dining halls of Buddhist monasteries. (Takakusu (trans), Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago, Oxford, 1896). Yet only about a half dozen large sculptures of Hariti survive. Among these, the present sculpture is one of the best carved and probably the most complete example in private hands.   The statue shows Hariti surrounded by her healthy children engaged in happy childhood exploits. One content boy sits by her shoulder, possibly playing a percussion instrument. Another rests in her arms and motions to suckle from her breast. Another tucked between her ankles reaches for a grape from the cluster in her hand. The cluster of grapes has a beautifully carved leaf draped in front. Other boys by her feet wrestle, and one pets the head of an animal in his lap. To her right, something appears to have caught the attention of her boys, suggesting this sculpture of Hariti initially appeared as part of an ensemble.    The story of Hariti's conversion to Buddhism survives in many ancient Indian and Chinese sources. Despite being a mother to 10,000 children, the ogress Hariti routinely terrorized the Northern Indian city of Rajagrha, devouring its children. After failing to appease, Rajagrha's inhabitants beseeched the Buddha to pacify her. Underneath his alms bowl, Buddha hides Hariti's most beloved child from her. This sends Hariti into a frenzy, searching for her missing son. When Buddha finally returns her child, he prompts Hariti to consider the pain she has caused other mothers. Struck by empathy, Hariti converts to Buddhism and, in exchange for food offerings, promises to protect its monastic communities and Rajagrha's children.   As a deity who affects childbirth and childrearing, Hariti's popularity spread far beyond her origins in Rajagrha. One scholar suggested this coincided with a pandemic of smallpox or similar disease sweeping from the Roman Empire across the Silk Road in 2nd century CE. Bellemare provides a survey of scholarship discussing reasons for why a local spirit-deity came to be the most important female Buddhist goddess in Gandhara and beyond (Bellemare, "Hariti Domesticated", in Orientations, vol.45, no.7, October 2014, pp.82-89).   Whereas she all but vanished from Gandhara by the 5th-century, Hariti's worship remained popular in China until the Song dynasty (Ming-liang, "A Study of the Origin and Development of the Representation of Hariti in the Chinese Tradition", in Taida Journal of Art History, vol.27, 2009, pp.107-40). While replaced by Tara among the 7th- to 9th-century bronzes of Swat Valley, Hariti remained a common subject of Chinese painted handscrolls up until the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), with iterations painted by famous artists Zhang Shengwen (1163-89) and Qiu Ying (1494-1552).   This sculpture of Hariti also alludes to cross-cultural exchange from the Middle East via the Silk Road. Of any other large depiction, this sculpture draws the closest resemblance to the famous Hariti found at Sheikh Dheri, dated 106 CE, and first published in the Archeological Survey of India in 1906 (fig.1). Barely resembling the sculpture of Gandhara, the Sheikh Dheri Hariti's high abstraction, face, fashion, and rosettes draw close resemblance to contemporaneous Palmyrene art of modern day Syria. Compare the Sheikh Dheri Hariti to a c.150 CE Palmyrene stele of Naame, published in Ingholt, Palmyrene and Gandharan Sculpture, New Haven, 1954, no.12. These features are not shared by two masterpieces of Hariti in Lahore and Peshawar Museum exemplifying the influence of the Greco-Roman tradition on Gandharan Art (Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, nos.340 & 342).   Likely the most complete and well carved large Gandharan sculpture of Hariti left in private hands, the statue has a strong published pedigree, being one of few subjects speaking so well to the spread of ideas, art, and people across the ancient Silk Road.   Published Arman Neven, Sculpture des Indes, Brussels, 1978, p.220, no.161. Mario Bussagli, L'Art du Gandhara, Paris, 1996, p.222. Flore De Marchant, Analyse des oeuvres narratives du Gandhara de la collection de Marteau, Louvain-La-Neuve, 1999, fig.58. Vidya Dehejia, Devi: The Great Goddess, Washington D.C., 1999, p.306, no.62 Miranda Eberle Shaw, Buddhist Goddesses of India, Princeton, 2006, p.123, pls.3&5.1.   Exhibited Sculpture des Indes, Société générale de Banque, Brussels, 8 December 1978 - 31 January 1979. Devi: The Great Goddess, Freer Sackler Galleries, 28 March - 6 September 1999.   Provenance Claude de Marteau, Belgium, by 1978 Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California, since September 1987     [Text for Caption] Fig.1 The Sheikh Dheri Hariti Schist, c.106CE 132 cm (52 in. high) Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh After Bachhofer, Early Indian Sculpture, New York, 1929, pl.150 片岩訶梨帝母像 犍陀羅，約二世紀 在凹陷處保有古代朱紅顏料。 高95釐米（37 1/2 英吋） 1,500,000-2,500,000港元   自西元一世紀到八世紀中期，訶梨帝母是古代犍陀羅地區的主要女性佛教神祇，她在中亞及中國也廣受歡迎。 當唐代僧人義淨在西元671經過犍陀羅時，描述訶梨帝母的雕像很普遍地陳設於佛寺的食堂附近（高楠（譯），《南海寄歸內法傳》，牛津，1896年）。然而僅有約六件大型訶梨帝母像存留下來。在這幾件造像中，此件雕像是私人藏品中雕工優異並且很可能是最完整的一件作品。 此尊雕像詮釋訶梨帝母享於天倫之樂，被歡喜安康的子女包圍。一心滿意足的男童坐在她肩上，很可能在演奏打擊樂器。另一個躺在她懷中正要去吸允母奶。一位童子被夾在她腳裸之間伸手取她手中葡萄串中的一顆葡萄。葡萄串的前面垂下雕刻出的美麗葉子。其他於她腳邊的男童在玩摔跤，一個男孩在輕撫在他腿上的寵物。她的兒子們被右側出現的人物吸引，表明這件訶梨帝母雕像可能原是一個造像群組中的一部分。 訶梨帝母皈依佛教的故事保存在許多古代印度及中國的經典中。雖然本身是一萬個孩子的母親，食人鬼訶梨帝母慣例性的恐怖侵擾北印度王舍城並吞食王舍城的孩子們。在安撫無效後，王舍城的居民們懇求佛陀來鎮壓她。佛陀把訶梨帝母的愛子藏在自己的缽底下。失去愛子後訶梨帝母發狂似的找尋。當佛陀最後把孩子歸還給她時，他提示訶梨帝母要考量她所造成其他母親們的痛苦。在同情心的作用下，訶梨帝母皈依了佛教並保證會保護佛教教團和王舍城的孩子來換取食品供物。 作為生育之神，訶梨帝母的朝拜流傳到王舍城以外。一位學者提出這與二世紀時從羅馬帝國沿著絲綢之路一路橫掃的天花流感或是類似的疾病有時間性的吻合。Bellemare提供了學術調查其中討論了為何一位當地神祇會在犍陀羅及其他地區成為一位最重要的佛母（參見Bellemare，"Hariti Domesticated"，《Orientations》，卷45，7號，2014年10月，頁82-89）。 到五世紀時對訶梨帝母的朝拜在犍陀羅消失無蹤，但對她的信仰在中國到宋代都還盛行（謝明良,"鬼子母在中國 - 從考古資料探索其圖像的起源與變遷"，國立臺灣大學美術史研究集刊，卷27，2009年，頁107-40)。訶梨帝母在斯瓦特山谷被7-9世紀的度母銅像所取代，但她在中國書畫手卷直到清代（1644-1911）都還是常見的題材，她的圖像被知名畫家張勝溫（1163-89）及仇英（1494-1552）詮釋描繪。 這件訶梨帝母雕像也體現了由中東經絲路所帶來的跨文化交流。在類似大型雕塑中，這件雕像最類似知名的史克-德利（Sheikh Dheri）地區發掘的訶梨帝母像，斷代在西元106年並在1906年印度考古調查中初次發表出版（《Archeological Survey of India in 1906》，圖1）。和犍陀羅的雕塑截然不同，史克-德利訶梨帝母的抽象性、臉部、服裝款式及裝飾花紋更近似於現今敘利亞和其同時期的帕米拉藝術。比較史克-德利訶梨帝母和納美 (Naame) 的公元150年的一座帕米拉石碑（Ingholt，《Palmyrene and Gandharan Sculpture》，紐黑文，1954年，12號）。此些特徵並沒有在拉合爾及白沙瓦博物館的兩件例證希臘羅馬傳統對犍陀羅藝術影響的訶梨帝母傑作中出現（Ingholt，《Gandharan Art in Pakistan》，紐約，1957年，號340與342）。 此件雕工精湛的訶梨帝母像可能為私人收藏中品相最好的作品，並有完整的出版歷史。其承載了古代絲綢之路上的歷史、藝術和人文的交流，見證了文明的傳承以及創新。   著錄 Arman Neven，《Sculpture des Indes》，布魯塞爾，1978年，頁220，號161。 Mario Bussagli，《L'Art du Gandhara》，巴黎，1996年，頁222。 Flore De Marchant，《Analyse des oeuvres narratives du Gandhara de la collection de Marteau》，新魯汶，1999年，號58。 Vidya Dehejia，《Devi: The Great Goddess》，華盛頓，1999年，頁306，號62。 Miranda Eberle Shaw，《Buddhist Goddesses of India》，普林斯頓，2006年，頁123，圖版3&5.1。   展覽 Sculpture des Indes，法國興業銀行，布魯塞爾，1978年12月8日 - 1979年1月31日。 Devi: The Great Goddess，佛利爾美術館，1999年3月28日 - 9月6日。   來源 Claude de Marteau，比利時，1978年前 Elizabeth 與 Willard Clark夫婦收藏，加州，自1987年9月   圖1史克-德利訶梨帝母 片岩，約公元106年 高132釐米（52 英吋） 政府博物館及藝廊，昌迪加爾 圖片來自Bachhofer，《早期印度雕塑》，紐約，1929年，圖版150