A BLACKSTONE STELE OF SYAMATARA


NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, CIRCA 10TH CENTURYWith the Buddhist Creed ("Ye dharma hetu...") inscribed on the stele's arch.Himalayan Art Resources item no.61804 50 cm (19 3/4 in.) high
|The distinctive blue lily (utpala), seen rising to her left shoulder from a sinuous stem, identifies the deity Green Tara. Acting as a savior, Green Tara extends her right hand in the gesture of bestowing charity. She sits in a relaxed posture, elegantly adorned with garland bands and a crisply carved beaded necklace.   Stylistically, the young Bodhisattva's shapely physiognomy strikes a pleasing balance between the very rounded forms of early Pala art (8th/9th century) and the more slender and abstracted late Pala sculptures (11th/12th century). As such, she is similar to a related c.10th century stele of Syamatara published in Huntington & Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree, Ohio, 1990, no.17. The two sculptures share corresponding lotus petals as well. However, unlike the published Syamatara, the present sculpture's is largely plain, which is common in Pala sculptures before the 11th century.   Provenance Eskenazi Ltd, Milan, early 1980s Private Collection, Milan 黑石綠度母碑 印度東北部，帕拉時期，約十世紀 碑拱刻佛偈銘文（「緣起法頌⋯」）。喜馬拉雅藝術資源網61804號高50釐米（19 3/4 英吋）400,000-600,000港元   藍睡蓮（優波羅）於左肩彎曲升起，是謂綠度母法身標記。綠度母為眾生救度佛母，右手施與願印，坐姿安祥，戴花鬘寶冠及雕工精練的連珠紋項鍊。 風格而言，此年輕菩薩的身形結合豐滿圓潤的早期帕拉藝術（八/九世紀）以及身型纖細抽象的晚期帕拉雕塑（十一/十二世紀）。此特色與一件淵源甚深之約十世紀綠度母石碑同工（戴於Huntington & Huntington著，《Leaves from the Bodhi Tree》，俄亥俄，1990年，17號）。兩尊佛蓮瓣造型一致，而此尊雕琢簡約，合乎十一世紀前的帕拉石像風格。   來源 Eskenazi Ltd，米蘭，八十年代初期 米蘭私人收藏