A gilt-copper alloy figure of Nagaraja inlaid with semi-precious stones, Densatil monastery, Tibet, early 15th century | 十五世紀初 藏傳丹薩替寺鎏金銅合金嵌寶石龍尊王像

Galerie Deydier, Paris, 6th December 1994.

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戴克成藝廊，巴黎，1994年12月6日

These divine beings are associated with the cosmic ocean and act as treasure guardians, often appearing in paintings and sculpture supporting lotus mandalas and the thrones of deities and Buddhist masters. Nagaraja similar to this example are seen supporting the vast lotus pedestal of one of the gilt metal monuments at Densatil, in photographs taken in 1948 by Pietro Francesco Mele, see Olaf Czaja and Adriana Proser, eds., Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Asia Society, 2014, fig. 16. Nagaraja support the throne of Jigten Gonpo, the Densatil visionary, in a thirteenth century Tibetan painting in the Pritzker Collection, ibid., p. 178, cat. no 47.

Compare the scrolling foliate motifs and the style of the lotus pedestal with the Densatil Shri Devi roundel in the Smithsonian Institute (acc. no. S1997.27), included in the seminal Densatil exhibition at Asia Society, New York, ibid., cat. no. 15.

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本鎏金銅龍尊王像圓形飾片鑄造精美。龍尊王亦稱蛇王，頂上圓光盤蛇，以矯健的姿態單腳跪於蓮花座，身飾珠寶首飾與王冠，雙手向上力舉，身旁盤繞著蛇身形納迦護法，整體渾然被巨大的捲軸藤蔓圍繞。

納迦神祉與宇宙海密切相關，亦為寶物守護者，在繪畫和雕塑常見其高抬曼陀羅蓮花座和神佛寶座。在義大利攝影師皮耶托·佛朗西斯科·梅爾於1948年拍攝於丹薩替寺照片中可見類似龍尊王像支撐著巨型鎏金銅蓮花座，見Olaf Czaja和Adriana Proser，《丹薩替寺金色願景：藏傳佛教寺院》，亞洲協會，2014年，圖16；另有一例，普利茲克收藏中一幅西藏十三世紀畫作，圖中描繪龍尊王雙臂力舉止貢巴寶座，同上，178頁，圖47。

再比一例，史密森學會收藏之丹薩替寺護法神（acc. no. S1997.27），捲軸藤蔓及蓮花座的風格雷同，展於紐約亞洲協會舉辦之丹薩替寺展覽演討會中，同上，編號15。