A SILVER FIGURE OF WHITE TARA


DOLONNOR, INNER MONGOLIA, 17TH/18TH CENTURYWith polychrome decoration and separately cast gold jewelry with inset turquoise.Himalayan Art Resources item no.61744 11 cm (4 1/3 in.) high
|Representing a high point in Qing artistic achievement, this silver sculpture of Tara is superbly modeled and luxuriously adorned, which suggests a special patron. The separately cast gold bracelets and the oversized gold necklace with inset turquoise are rare features only shared with a handful of sculptures, including a Mahakala in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.456, no.126A; a closely related figure of Ushnishavijaya, see Beijing Hanhai, 26 October 2014, lot 4493; and a figure of Avalokiteshvara sold at Christie's, New York, 15 September 2015, lot 15.   The distinctive oval face can be compared with two parcel-gilt silver Taras, one in the Rockefeller Collection; see Rhie and Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 2001, fig.26, the other in private hands; see Heller, Tibetan Buddhist Art, Beijing, 2008, p.228, figs.4-16.   The delightfully painted textiles are unusual for metal sculpture in general, but favored in Mongolia in the 18th and 19th century; see an copper alloy figure of White Mahakala in the Jacques Marchais Museum, and in Lipton, Treasures of Tibetan Art, New York, 1996, p.167, no.88. The designs imitate Chinese silks and draw similarities with depictions of White Tara in Eastern Tibetan thangkas, such as one in the Rubin Museum of Art (HAR no.997).   While the broad, almost rectangular lotus petals follow a style that was prevalent in Dolonnor, there are no direct comparisons, and the deeply inset consecration plate suggests that the figure was mounted on a larger shrine.   Provenance Benny Rustenburg, Hong Kong, 10 September 2004 Private European Collection 銀質白度母像 多倫諾爾，內蒙古，十七/十八世紀 附多彩裝飾，另附分別鑄造的嵌松石金飾。喜馬拉雅藝術資源網61744號高11釐米（4 1/3 英吋）  1,200,000-1,800,000港元   此尊銀度母像為清代造像藝術的上乘之作，造型精美，配飾華貴，應為特殊的供養人所製。分別鑄造的金臂釧及嵌綠松石的金項鏈極為罕見，只有寥廖可數幾尊造像採用類似做法，其中包括一尊大黑天像（收錄於施羅德所著，《印度與西藏的銅造像》，香港，1981年，頁456，126A號）；一尊十分相似的尊勝佛母，參見北京瀚海，2014年10月26日，拍品4493號；以及一尊觀音菩薩售於佳士得，紐約，2015年9月15日，拍品15號。   獨特的橢圓面形與兩尊局部鎏金的銀度母像可比，一為洛克菲勒收藏（見Rhie and Thurman著 ，《Wisdom and Compassion》，紐約，2001年，圖26），另一由私人收藏（見Heller著，《西藏佛教藝術》，北京，2008年，頁228，圖4-16）。 度母衣著色彩繽紛，在造像中比較罕見，在十八至十九世紀為蒙古匠人所好。參見Jacques Marchais博物館藏之一尊白大黑天銅像，出版於Lipton著，《Treasures of Tibetan Art》，紐約，1996年，頁167，88號）。布料設計仿效中國絲綢，與藏東唐卡中對白度母的描繪有相似之處，參考魯賓美術館藏的一幅白度唐卡（喜馬拉雅藝術資源網997號）。   闊至幾近長方型之蓮葉，師法多倫諾爾盛行之風格，並無可供直接類比之例子；封底深陷，說明此像曾嵌於大佛龕中。   來源 Benny Rustenburg，香港，2004年9月10日歐洲私人收藏