Published and exhibited: John C. Huntington and Dina Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Columbus Museum of Art, 5 October 2003 to 9 May 2004, pp. 203-204, cat. no. 53.

Powerfully modeled and boldly cast striding in aldhasana atop a double-headed naga on a lotus base, his right hand holding a vajra and his left held admonishingly in tarjani mudra. He is wearing a tiger pelt around his waist and adorned with jewelry in the form of snakes as well as a beaded necklace. His face with a wrathful expression marked by sharp fangs, wide eyes, raised brows centered by a prominent urna, and a neatly incised beard. His fiery hair is surmounted by a blade-like protuberance with an image of Akshobya Buddha.

Provenance: Oriental Gem Co., London, United Kingdom, by 1971. The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection, Columbus, Ohio, USA. John (d. 2021) and Susan Huntington are important scholars of Buddhist art, who have done extensive field research and photographic documentation throughout Asia. The couple were not just partners in life but partners in their chosen work of teaching, researching, and publishing about the art of Asia. John’s doctoral dissertation, Styles and Stylistic Sources of Tibetan Painting, was a pioneering work written at a time when there was little, if any, scholarly attention being paid to the study of Tibetan art. Following his doctoral work, John spent 1969-1970 traveling in Asia on a National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowship pursuing his study of Buddhist art. At the same time, Susan was doing field research in India on a Fulbright grant for her doctoral dissertation. They married in India in 1970. Prior to undertaking graduate studies, John had been a professional photographer and throughout his life, his passion for photography never waned. Susan had developed an abiding interest in photography since taking a course in high school. Together, with Susan making exhaustive field notes as they photographed, the pair developed a teamwork that continued throughout their lifetime of field work, culminating in the John C. and Susan L. Huntington Photographic Archive of Buddhist and Asian Art, which contains nearly 300,000 original slides and photographs documenting art and architecture throughout Asia. Both taught at the Ohio State University, with Susan serving as Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education from 1995 and 2005, and John building a flourishing program in Asian art history, and they have published many articles and books on a wide range of topics related to Asian and Buddhist art, both separately and together. The collecting history of the Huntingtons aligned closely with their academic research and passion for learning. While they collected works in established categories that epitomized major Indian and Himalayan artistic styles or periods, they also pursued pieces that were little understood and that begged for further academic research.
Condition: Good condition commensurate with age. Expected old wear, predominantly from centuries of worship within the culture. Minor casting flaws, small dents, minuscule nicks, light scratches, some losses, the unsealed base further with a small tear. The left arm has been reattached with ancient rivets, probably hundreds of years ago. Remnants of pigment. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 998.7 g
Dimensions: Height 25.2 cm

Vajrapani, originally a peaceful bodhisattva in the Mahayana tradition, has a wrathful manifestation within the Tantric or Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. The present lot depicts Nilambara Vajrapani, or the Blue-Clad One. In this form Vajrapaṇi is dark blue, with one face, three eyes, and two hands. His clothing is blue and his thick matted hair streams upward. His body is adorned with eight serpents in various places, and in his right hand he brandishes a vajra. For the Tibetans, and no doubt for Indian tantric practitioners, this form of Vajrapaṇi was highly popular‍, to the extent that the Kangyur contains no less than seven tantras and two dharani texts centered on this awakened figure.

In this manifestation, the wrathful Vajrapani displays his rightful indignation at hindrances that impede the practitioner on the path to enlightenment, directed toward the foolishness of someone who has encountered the Buddha’s teaching and who is, even so, too arrogant and prideful to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha. For both protection and purification, a wrathful Vajrapani is invoked during the Krodhavesha ritual in the Kalachakra practice, in which the practitioner identifies with Vajrapani.

Stylistically the piece belongs to the Tsang Valley school of the 13^th or 14^th century, but it is entirely Tibetan in conception and execution, without the usual Newar-inspired characteristics associated with this school. Rather, it is freely modeled, ignoring all but the most significant details. The present sculpture’s great potency comes from the violently angry grimace and lunging thrust of its position. The modeler has truly captured the feeling of outrage at the unfortunate being who does not have the good sense to seek refuge in the Buddhist teachings.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related brass figure of Chanda Vajrapani, 16.6 cm high, dated to the 13^th century, in the Tibet Museum Fondation Alain Bordier, accession number ABS 070. Compare the iconography of a painting of Vajrapani, illustrated in Robert N. Linrothe and Jeff Watt, Demonic Devine: Himalayan Art and Beyond, New York, p. 229.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 18 September 2013, lot 304
Price: USD 75,000 or approx. EUR 92,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze figure of Achala, Tibet, 13^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related striding pose, wrathful expression with three eyes and sharp fangs, snake ornaments, hairstyle, and color of the bronze. Note the related size (26.2 cm).



十三至十四世紀西藏大型金剛手菩薩
金剛手菩薩神情肅穆，火焰狀赤飄揚於頭頂天，頂戴五葉寶冠，三目圓睜怒視，闊嘴大張，唇色血紅，獠牙外露，頭向左微傾，呈忿怒相。身體壯碩，上身袒裸，腹部圓鼓，腰間圍虎皮，左手屈肘當胸作忿怒印，右手高舉持金剛杵。胸前垂掛連珠瓔珞，肩披飄帶，手腕、腳踝配戴釧環。右腿屈起，左腿直伸，下承單層蓮座。

出版及展覽：John C. Huntington、Dina Bangdel，《The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art》，洛杉磯郡立美術館和哥倫布藝術博物館，2003年10月5日至2004年5月9日，頁203-204，目錄號 53。

來源：英國倫敦Oriental Gem Co.，約1971年；美國俄亥俄州哥倫布The John C. and Susan L. Huntington 收藏。John (2021年逝世) 與Susan Huntington是佛教藝術的重要學者，他們在整個亞洲進行了廣泛的實地研究和影像記錄。這對夫婦不僅是生活中的伙伴，也是亞洲藝術教學、研究和出版工作的伙伴。John的博士論文《Styles and Stylistic Sources of Tibetan Painting》(西藏繪畫風格及其來源) 是一部開創性的著作，因爲當時學術界幾乎不關注西藏藝術。完博士論文後，John 於 1969 年至 1970 年間在亞洲旅行，獲得國家人文基金會的博士後獎學金，繼續對佛教藝術的研究。與此同時，Susan 正在印度進行實地研究，以獲得福佈賴特交流項目對她的博士論文的資助。他們於 1970 年在印度結婚。在攻讀研究生之前，John一直是一名專業攝影師，在他的一生中，他對攝影的熱情從未減弱。Susan在高中時就對攝影產生了濃厚的興趣。Susan在拍攝時做了詳盡的田野筆記，這對搭的團隊合作精神貫穿了他們一生的田野工作，最終建立了John C. 和Susan L. Huntington佛教和亞洲藝術攝影檔案館，其中包含近 300,000 張原創作品，幻燈片和照片記錄了整個亞洲的藝術和建築。兩人都在俄亥俄州立大學任教，Susan在 1995 年和 2005 年擔任研究生院院長和研究生教育副教務長，John則在亞洲藝術史上建立了一個蓬勃發展的項目，他們發表了許多與亞洲和佛教藝術相關文章和書，有獨立的，也有一起合作的。Huntington家族的收藏歷史與他們的學術研究和學習熱情密切相關。雖然他們收集了代表印度和喜馬拉雅主要藝術風格或時期的既定類別的作品，但他們也追求鮮為人知且需要進一步學術研究的作品。
品相：品相良好，有磨損和使用痕跡，輕微的鑄造缺陷、小凹痕、微小的刻痕、輕微的劃痕，未密封的底座還有一個小裂。左臂重新固定；色素殘留，整體古銅色細膩包漿。

重量：998.7 克
尺寸：高25.2 厘米

金剛手菩薩，原本是大乘佛教中的寂靜菩薩，在密宗或金剛乘佛教傳統中具有忿怒相。本造像描繪了藍衣金剛手，一般情況下這位金剛手是深藍色的，有一張臉、三隻眼睛和兩隻手。他的衣服是藍色的，濃密的亂發向上飄揚。其身各處飾八蛇，右手執金剛杵。對於密宗修行者來說，這種形式的金剛手非常受歡迎。在這個示現中，憤怒的金剛手菩薩對阻礙修行者證悟之道的障礙表現出强烈的憤慨。從風格上講，這件造像屬於十三或十四世紀的藏谷派，但它在構思和執行上完全是西藏的，沒有與該學派相關的通常的尼瓦爾風格特徵。相反，它的風格非常豪放自由，他給觀者所帶來震撼來自於它的忿怒相鬼臉和動感。匠人真實地捕捉到了不幸的眾生的憤怒之情。

文獻比較：
比較相近的十三世紀金剛手菩薩黃銅像，高16.6 厘米 ，收藏於Tibet Museum Fondation Alain Bordier，館藏編號ABS 070。比較金剛經畫像，見Robert N. Linrothe和Jeff Watt，《Demonic Devine: Himalayan Art and Beyond》，紐約，頁229。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2013年9月18日，lot 304
價格：USD 75,000（相當於今日EUR 92,500）
描述：十三世紀西藏不動明王
專家評論：比較非常相近的大步流星的姿势，三目圓睜的表情，鋒利的獠牙，蛇形飾物，髮型，以及青銅色的顏色。請注意相近的尺寸 (26.2 厘米)。