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释迦牟尼像，犍陀罗，4-5世纪，青铜 Shakyamuni, Gandhara, ca.4th-5th Century, Bronze 这是一尊释迦牟尼佛立像。佛陀右手上举施无畏印，意味着无惧、安心与保护, 象征着给予膜拜这尊绝伦造像的信众以庇护与鼓励。无畏印，仅次于说法印，是释迦佛最常见的印相，几乎所有的犍陀罗青铜造像都结这种印相。佛像身着通肩袈裟，左手握袈裟衣角，跣足而立。袈裟的另一端覆于左肩，从背面可以看到一个柄脚与之相连，原先应插有独立的背光。
这尊大型青铜造像面部表情沉静安祥、作冥思状，是犍陀罗艺术中令人印象最为深刻、最为重要的佛陀造像之一。佛陀有着长长的耳垂，暗示着他在成为一名菩萨和佛之前曾经为王子，佩戴世俗珠宝。佛陀头顶上的肉髻，可以追溯至印度苦行僧的发结，后来被转借到佛教中，为佛陀证悟智慧的象征 ; 佛陀前额的白毫，手掌上的法轮，皆属于莲花经中描述的三十二瑞相，是宇宙之主，也就是佛陀所具有的特征。 过去的相关图书或文章中几乎没有人注意到犍陀罗的青铜造像。包含本件作品，藏于博物馆或是私人收藏的犍陀罗施无畏印佛陀青铜立像只有二十七件，据笔者所知，大多数尺寸约为三十至四十公分高，还有一些更小。
目前关于犍陀罗造像在二至七世纪的风格演变尚未取得一致的结论。铭文、文本证据、钱币线索和令人信服的正式标准不存在或是无法为现代年代学作出贡献，提供出比“早期二至四世纪的犍陀罗流派”和“五至七世纪的犍陀罗风格”这样的叙述更为精确的说明。犍陀罗艺术风格似乎为一种持续时间相当长的美学与地域传统，其面部特征与衣褶在几个世纪内都遵循着相同的模式。
施无畏印的佛陀青铜造像通常会被认为是五至七世纪笈多或后笈多的作品，而在不少的例子中，一般高大的造像会表现出最为精细的工艺并且更为严谨地合乎当时的风格标准; 相反地，较小的造像往往被人认为较不重要而对其工艺的要求也比较低。但为何这样的年代判定并不符合其他三至四世纪可资比较的石造像或是泥塑造像的风格呢？
在佛陀造像上主要有两种不同的发型表现，其一为密集的波浪纹卷发，或者是如同这尊止观美术馆佛陀造像的螺发，螺发卷儿一个挨着一个，后者是距离犍陀罗地区较远的笈多马图拉作坊的特征。这里的螺发是受到当时马图拉地区作品的影响，同本土流行的密集波浪纹发式一起，成为一种可供选择的样式，而非图像学或风格演变的结果。事实上，不同地区的作坊往往在细节表现和技术使用上遵循不同的传统。一些断代为六世纪的施无畏印青铜佛陀造像也有着明显的笈多样式外貌和更加中心对称的袈裟衣褶，令人联想到笈多服饰的独特设计特点。
乍观之下，这尊止观美术馆的杰作似乎是一尊非常古典的犍陀罗佛陀造像。然而其面部特征暗示出了早期原始喀什米尔风格的一些特征：线条锐利、下视的眼睛与尖锐的眉毛，与目前一些私人收藏的大喀什米尔地区受犍陀罗风格影响的七世纪佛陀青铜造像相类似。
综合上述事实和特点，特别是本尊造像表现出的风格传统与对于新艺术灵感的采纳，止观美术馆的这尊佛陀造像最有可能为五世纪的作品。
技术分析（由J. Podany和 J. Twilley 于2018年所作）：“根据之前对本作品进行的技术分析，这尊造像为整体浇铸，其胎壁相当薄，只有大约一厘米厚。其身体头部与双脚采用了传统的失蜡铸造工法，而手部与头顶上的肉髻则采用了实心的固体浇铸。其金属成份分析显示其为84％的红铜与略高于14％的锡。内部的（可能是铁）衔架，依据Ｙ射线、伽玛射线照相与光谱测量的记录，除了肩部的一些残片外，大部分因为自然的腐蚀而脱落。”
“根据显微镜对其表面铜锈所做的检测，除了一些被保护区域尚存的原始残片，自然的、古老的锈蚀暗示着本尊造像是经考古发掘出土。经过了近年非常专业的、彻底的保护，这尊造像现在已非常接近其原本的样貌。”
“依据放射线照相检测的结果，我们很惊讶地发现这尊造像依然保持着非常好的原始状况，只有佛陀上举的手上指尖佚失。这尊止观美术馆造像所呈现出来的非比寻常的灵性，冥思的面孔，亘古不朽的存在，超凡的庄严神情与其罕见的体量，使其成为一件最为重要的犍陀罗青铜造像作品。” 2015年，美国洛杉矶彼得·迈耶斯先生 (Mr. Pieter Meyers)对此尊造像进行了检测和分析：“这尊立佛是铸造而成，铜锡合金并有少量的铅,与早期的佛像合金成份是一致的。通过对立佛取样进行微观结构观察，其锈蚀的类型和范围，以及金属体和锈蚀物共存的特点，都与所提供的佛像制作年代是一致的。”
文/麦克.汉斯 翻译/陈秉扬 校对/张长虹 This standing Buddha Shakyamuni displays with his raised right hand the abhaya mudra, the gesture of fearlessness, reassurance and protection, granting refuge and encouragement to the believer and all those who may revere and worship this magnificent statue of the Enlightened One. The abhaya mudra, in Chinese shiwuweiyin, characterises next to the teaching dharmacakra mudra, the most popular image type of the historical Buddha and of nearly all bronze sculptures in Gandharan art.– With the proper left the Buddha holds the hem of his garment, which covers the whole image, leaving both feet bare. The sash of the robe’s other end is laid over his left shoulder as seen from the backside of the statue, to which a tang is attached once holding a full separately cast halo around the Buddha.
The beautiful serene and contemplative physiognomy makes this extraordinary large bronze one of the most impressive and important Buddha statues in Gandharan art. The ears with the elongated lobes are meant to remind of Siddharta Gautama’s renunciation of bearing the worldly jewelry as once in his princely life before the decided to leave his family and home to become a bodhisattva and a Buddha on he way to enlightenment. The uppermost section of the curled hair, in Sanskrit usnisa, «turban» or «curled hair», has been traced back to the hair knot of the Indian ascet-saints to be transformed later on in Buddhism from mode to meditation, as a wisdom protuberance of the Buddha’s awakening. Like the urna (Skt. urna), the light-radiating «whirl of hair» on the forehead, the cakra on the palm of the Buddha’s abhaya hand, it is one of the 32 psychosomatic laksanas as mentioned in the famous Lotus Sutra, the auspicious body-marks of a «great man» (Skt. mahapurusa), characterising a Universal Sovereign (Skt. cakravartin) and thus the Buddha.
Hardly any or no attention at all has been given to Gandharan bronzes by the relevant major book and article publications (1). 27 standing abhaya bronze Buddhas in public and private collections, including the one under review, are presently known to this autor, most of them between circa 30 and 40cm in height, and a few of lesser size. (2)
No consensus has reached so far on a stylistic chronology of Gandharan sculpture from the 2nd to 7th century. (3)Inscriptions, textual evidence, numismatic clues, and convincing formal criteria do not exist or cannot contribute to a modern chronology with more precise specifications than «Gandharan school» for the earlier c. 2nd – 4th century periodand, «Gandharan style» for the 5th to the 7th century. Styles in Gandharan art appear to be of long lasting aesthetic conventions and regional traditions. Faces and folds of the drapery seem to follow the same patterns over centuries. The abhaya-bronzes are usually dated as «Gupta» or «post-Gandharan»images to the 5th through 7th centuries, in not a few cases apparently based on the idea that monumental statuary would represent the most advanced style and leading standard, while so-called «minor stuff» - as pretended – like smaller bronzes might have been of lower importance and in less demand. And why would these suggested dates not correspond to the style of the many comparable stone and clay sculptureres commonly attributed to the 3rd or 4th century ? (4)
Two different hair-styles, densely waved undulating into the usnisa, or with curls as shown by the Zhiguan Collection Buddha, exist largely next to each other, the latter a characteristic feature of the Gupta Mathura ateliers, which, however, were far away from the Gandharan region. Here the curl hair style became later on under the influence of the contemporary production in Mathura, next to the «indigenious» densely-waved hair coiffure, aselective mode, not determind by icocnography or stylistic chronology. Different regional workshops followed different traditions in formal details and technical aspects. Several abhaya bronzes dated to the 6th century have adistinctive Gupta physiognomy (5) and amore symmetric concentric draping of the monastic robe, which also recalls the characteristic Gupta garment design.
The Zhiguan masterpiece may represent at first sight a very «classical» Gandhara Buddha. Its facial features, however, indicate some specific elements of an early «proto»Kashmiri style: the sharp-ridged slid-eyes and in particular the sharp-edged eye-brows as found with a few ca. 7th century Gandharan style influenced bronze Buddhas from the greater Kashmir areas in private collections(6) Considering all these facts and features, proposals and probabilities of stylistic conventions and new inspirations a circa 5th century date appears to be most likely for the so far unknown Buddha from the Zhiguan Museum.
Technical investigation (by J. Podany and J. Twilley, 2018) proved that the statue was cast as a single unit, with a relatively low wall-thickness of only 1mm. The traditional lost-wax cast comprises here the full body with head and feet, except the solid-cast hands and the usnisa. Metal analysis attested 84% copper and a moderately high content of 14% tin. (7) The internal (probablyiron) armature is now, except some fragments in the shoulder area, largely lostdue to natural corrosion as documented by Y-ray and gamma radiography and spectometry.
As recorded by microscopic examination the patina surface showed, except a few original fragments in protected areas, natural ancient corrosion indicating a former archaeological excavation of this statue. After the recent very professional and thoroughful conservation the patina is now again close to the original.
The radiography-confirmed surprisingly good original condition (only the finger tips of the Buddha’s raised hand are missing), the expressive spiritual, meditative face, the monumental presence and hieratic dignity, and the sheer size make this image the most significant bronze statue in Gandharan art. In 2015, Mr.Pieter Meyers, from Los Angeles in the US, conducted the test and concluded: “The Standing Buddha is cast from a tin-copper alloy with a small amount of lead, consistent with early Buddhist metallurgy. The type and extent of the corrosion and the characteristics of the corrosion-metal interface as observed in the microstructures of the two samples from the Standing Buddha are consistent with the suggested date of manufacture.” (Michael Henss)
Notes 1. H.Ingolt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York 1957; I. Kurita, Gandharan Art, 2vols., Tokyo 1990 (2nd enlarged ed. 2003); W. Zwalf, A Catalogue ofthe Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, 2 vols. London 1996; Gandhara. Das buddhistische Erbe Pakistans, Bonn 2008.
2. Anearly life-sized late Gandharan bronze group of a seated Shakyamuni with two standing attendant bodhisattveas in a altar-like setting is now in a Chinese private collection.
3. Kurt Behrendt’s chapter «Dating Gandharan Sculpture» in his The Buddhist Architectureof Gandhara, Leiden 2004 (p. 268-295) is an useful and challenging, yet disputable general attempt to establish a «four phases» Gandharan chronology from the 1st to the 8th century, but does not include metal images.
4. Other monumental statues of a pure» classical Gandharan style and without any Gupta elements were excarvated in the last years at Mes Aynak and Kafiriyat Tepe, Afghansitan, dated, without safe chronological reference points, tothe c. 5th century, might be attributed to a probably earlier period.
5. See for the «Gupta-Gandharan style» for example W. Zwalf, Buddhism. Art and Faith,London 1985, no. 129; Christie’s New York 17.9.1998, no.4; K. Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum, New York 2007, nos. 58-60; L’Age d’Orde l’Inde Classique, Musée Guimet, Paris 2007, p. 96-97.
6. See Rossi and Rossi, advertisment, Orientations, May 2010 ; Christian Deydier,advertisment, exhibition catalogue, Völklingen/Saarbrücken 2016, no. 18, - allseated metal Buddhas representing a transitional «Kashmir-Gandhara Style»(eyes, garment folding, curled hair). An earlier standing Buddha with traditional Gandharan folds and densely waved hair shows similar Kashmir style sharply-ridged eye-lids and long-curved eye-brows like the Zhiguan Buddha(private collection, Switzerland, unpublished).
7. Afew Gandharan abhaya-«bronzes» are maybe rightly described as brass (copper-zincalloy), see Behrendt 2007, op.cit., nos. 58, 60.
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