A rare turquoise-inlaid gilt-copper alloy figure of Guhyasamaja, Tibet, 15th century | 十五世紀 藏傳銅鎏金嵌寶密集金剛坐像

Claude de Marteau, Brussels, ca. 1975.

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克勞德‧德‧馬圖，布魯塞爾，約1975年

The finely cast and gilded bronze depicts Guhyasamaja-Akshobhyavajra and Sparshavajri, the male and female aspects of the meditation deity Guhyasamaja, each with three heads and six arms, and holding the same attributes of vajra,ghanta, dharmachakra, khadja, padma and ratna, both richly adorned with turquoise inset jewellery and seated in union on a double lotus pedestal. Their faces are sensitively painted with gold and polychrome, and hair coloured blue in the Tibetan manner. The statue represents a significant style group of Tibetan sculpture that developed in the fifteenth century, with intricate and slender modelling compared to the more robust bronzes of the fourteenth century, often inset solely with turquoise to the exclusion of other stones, and almost always richly gilded. The style was espoused by the artist Sonam Gyaltsen who was active in the first half of the century: compare the design of the crowns, armbands and bracelets, and the engraved textile motifs with a standing gilt bronze Avalokiteshvara with a dedicatory inscription recording its creation by Sonam Gyaltsen, see Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/items/61516.

The Indian Guhyasamaja Tantra is believed to have originated in the third or fourth century, and the teaching was transmitted to Tibetans from the eleventh century through such adepts as the great Indian scholar Atisha (982-1054). The Guhyasamaja was amongst the first Sanskrit tantras to be translated into Tibetan. Marpa (1012-1096) travelled to India on a number of occasions, becoming an acknowledged Tibetan translator of Sanskrit texts, and his commentaries on the Guhyasamaja Tantra were passed on through the Kagyu order. Perhaps the most influential Tibetan practitioner of the tantra was Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), the founder of the Gelukpa order, who brought clarity to unresolved issues in the various Tibetan versions of the translated text. Tsongkhapa is quoted as believing the Guhyasamaja Tantra to be the king of all tantras, and “Understanding the sublime path of Guhyasamaja bestows fearless, confident understanding of all the teachings of the Buddha”, see Cathleen A. Cummings, “Guhyasamaja Tantra”, in John C. Huntington and Dina Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Serindia Publications, 2003, p. 432.

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本尊密集金剛華麗精美，乃由金剛不動金剛與觸身明妃所成。金剛不動者，男性也；觸身明妃者，女性也。各具三頭六臂，手執金剛杵、法輪、手鼓、刀、蓮花及寶石等法器，身飾綠松石珠寶，共坐於雙蓮座上。其臉龐由金色與多彩繪製，髮色則為藏藍。相較於十四世紀較為豪放之風格，十五世紀西藏鎏金銅造像精緻繁複，鎏金工藝高超，並僅採用綠松石鑲崁，本尊可視為該風格經典之作。活躍於十五世紀上半葉的藝術家索南． 嘉參特別推崇此風格，可比較其冠冕、臂鐲和手鐲設計，或衣摺紋樣，詳見傑夫·瓦特之文https://www.himalayanart.org/items/61516。

密集金剛續傳聞起於印度三至四世紀，其教義由十一世紀始經由偉大印度學者阿底島等成就者傳入藏地。密集金剛續為最早譯成藏文之梵文經文之一。馬爾巴（1012-1096）多次往來印度，成為藏文梵文翻譯家，其密集金剛續詮釋傳於噶舉派。格魯派創始者宗喀巴（1357-1419）極具影響力，釐清藏文版本中未解之疑。宗喀巴曾言：「密集金剛續為諸經之王，明了其崇高之道路，則對佛陀一切教理皆能無畏自信」。詳見凱斯琳·A·卡明斯之論文《密集金剛》，載於約翰·C·亨廷頓及迪娜·邦德爾所著《幸福圓輪：佛教禪修藝術》，Serindia Publications，2003年，頁432頁。