Early Ming dynasty Buddhist gilt-metal sculptures are famed for their exceptional quality as exemplified by this magnificent figure of Shakyamuni Buddha. During the Yongle (1402-1424) and Xuande (1425-1435) reigns, Chinese imperial workshops produced refined gilt bronze sculptures in a distinct style. As with the present example, these imperial commissions were used to strengthen secular and religious alliances with Tibet and were presented as gifts to Tibetan hierarchs and monasteries.
The figure is cast seated in vajraparyankasana, the right hand held in bhumisparshamudra, the left in dhyanamudra, wearing a pleated robe draped over the left shoulder and falling over the crossed-legs in undulous folds. His downturned eyes and gentle features display a tranquil meditative expression and the long pendulous ears are cut with vertical slots. The hair is arranged in rows of small pointed scrolls surmounted by a conical bud-shaped ushnisha. The sculpture is supported on a rounded triangular double lotus pedestal and is incised with a six-character mark, Da Ming Xuande nian shi, ‘Bestowed in the Great Ming Xuande Period’ on the top of the base.
This iconographic form in which the historical Buddha is seated with his right hand in the earth-touching position, bhumisparshamudra, recalls a momentous episode from his spiritual biography in which he triumphs over Mara just prior to his enlightenment. Having vowed to remain in meditation until he penetrated the mystery of existence, Shakyamuni was visited by Mara, a demon associated with the veils and distractions of mundane existence. The Buddha remained unmoved by all the pleasant and unpleasant distractions with which Mara sought to deflect him from his goal.
According to some traditional accounts, Mara’s final assault consisted of an attempt to undermine the bodhisattva’s sense of worthiness by questioning Shakyamuni's entitlement to seek the lofty goal of spiritual enlightenment and the consequent freedom from rebirth. Aided by spirits who reminded him of the countless compassionate efforts he had made on behalf of sentient beings throughout his numerous animal and human incarnations, Shakyamuni recognised that it was his destiny to be poised on the threshold of enlightenment. In response to Mara’s query, Shakyamuni moved his right hand from the meditation position in his lap and touched the ground stating ‘the earth is my witness’. This act of unwavering resolve caused Mara and his army of demons and temptresses to disperse, leaving Shakyamuni to experience his great enlightenment. The episode took place at the adamantine throne, vajrasana, beneath the bhodi tree at Bodh Gaya, eastern India, a location said to have been especially empowered to expedite the Buddha’s enlightenment.
Closely-related examples include the gilt-bronze Xuande-marked figure of Buddha (27.7 cm. high) gifted by Miss Lucy T. Aldrich to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number: 52.1844, which is nearly identical in style but with extensive wear to the gilding; and the cast brass seated figure of Shakyamuni (29 cm. high), 15th-16th century, from the Chang Foundation illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, p. 22, Fig. 4. A comparable gilt-bronze seated figure of Shakyamuni, Xuande incised mark and period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 9 July 2020, lot 2703 and a closely-related gilt-bronze seated Shakyamuni, Yongle incised mark and period, sold at Bonhams London, 18 May 2023, lot 40.