A SILVER FIGURE OF MARICI


QIANLONG PERIOD (1735-1796)Himalayan Art Resources item no.61788 18.5 cm (7 3/8 in.) high
|Marici, Goddess of Light, is shown seated on a lotus throne on the back of a sow. She is sumptuously adorned with crown with inset gems and flowing silk shawl. This example is one of the rare silver figures of its size.As recorded in Maricidharanisutra, she is the powerful bodhisattva who masters the power of indivisibility in the daylight. Marici is a highly revered deity in the Qing court due to her role as the tutelary protector of the State from invading armies. The prominence of her worship is reiterated by the sixth Panchen Lama, who gifted a set of Marici thangkas to the Emperor in the forty fifth year of Qianlong (1780). Compare with an almost identical Marici from the Wall of Sanctuary of Buddhist Essence in the Palace Museum, published in Palace Publishing, Fanhua Lou cangbao: Foxiang [Statues in the Sanctuary of Buddhist Essence], Beijing, 2013, p.509, pl.755), and another example sold at Bonhams, London, 15 May 2014, lot 316. Provenance Sotheby's, London, 9 November 2016, lot 282 銀質積光佛母像乾隆時期（1735-1796）喜馬拉雅藝術資源網61788號高18.5釐米（7 3/8英吋）700,000-900,000港元積光佛母，梵名為摩利支天，坐於豬背上的蓮座之上，呈菩薩寂靜相。佛母一面二臂，頭飾華麗的五葉冠，肩披天衣絲帶。此尊造像是清代宮庭少數大型鑄銀造像中罕見之例。 據佛典《佛說摩利支天菩薩陀羅尼經》，摩利支天具大神通自在法並且善於隱形。傳有保衛國土防止敵兵侵犯之神通，在乾隆四十五年（公元1780年）六世班禪爾德尼進京為乾隆祝賀時，進獻了數幅積光佛母唐卡作為壽禮，唐卡以及綾簽現藏於北京故宮。現藏於梵華樓西壁供有一尊與此尊造像風格極為相近的乾隆時期積光佛母（參見故宮博物院編，《梵華樓藏寶》，北京，2013年，頁509，圖755）。另論一尊類似清十八世紀摩利支天造像售於倫敦邦瀚斯，2014年5月15日，拍品316號。 來源 蘇富比，倫敦，2016年11月9日，拍品282號