拍賣筆記 vol.473 蘇富比紐約2026：204.8萬美元售出，唐末五代銅鎏金如意輪觀世音菩薩坐像 - A Gilt-Bronze Figure Of Chintamanichakra Avalokiteshvara, Late Tang Dynasty / Five Dynasties, Sold For US$2,048,000
晚唐密教六臂、遊戲坐托腮、三層寶裝蓮座，傳世鎏金銅極少。缺臂是明記舊傷，2019 已按206萬美元成交，7年後帳面小虧，204.8萬成交，前任藏家輸了佣金、利息。本品2019年拍賣後離開美國，此次上拍重新進入美國已有關稅標誌。
唐末 / 五代 銅鎏金如意輪觀世音菩薩坐像
Import Tariff
拍賣已結束
September 17, 04:10 AM HKT
估價：600,000 - 800,000 USD
拍品已售：2,048,000 USD
出處
Trezevant Branam Winfrey (1912-1999) 收藏，自1968年起
密蘇里州私人收藏，1999年於密蘇里州柯克伍德購於上述處之收藏
紐約蘇富比2019年3月20日，編號553
品相
缺失部分包括：一右臂（自肘部起）、一左手之部分手指及法輪、飄帶末端兩處、蓮莖頂端。表面散見細微磕痕，鎏金剝落，均與年代相符。部分凹陷處殘留紅色顏料。原座已佚。
同款／近例（附連結）
1. 同一件，2019 年成交紀錄
即本器。估 6–8 萬，七分鐘競價至 206 萬。市場記憶極深，2026年反而低於七年前成交。
2. 蘇富比紐約 2026 年 3 月 四臂小像
唐 鎏金銅菩薩（或即如意輪），高 10 厘米
估 $20,000–30,000
$38,400售出
圖錄明寫：對照即 2019 拍品 553 這尊六臂；並稱四臂鎏金銅例當時未見第二件。
3. 敦煌莫高窟第 14 窟北壁 晚唐六臂如意輪觀音壁畫
與本器同姿、同持物，是圖錄給出的同期圖像錨。
4. 故宮藏敦煌紙本殘片 唐 如意輪觀音
六臂、冠中化佛，榜題「救苦觀世音菩薩」。
5. 松原三郎圖版 唐銅如意輪2019 蘇富比圖錄所引：Saburo Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: A study based on bronze and stone statues other than works from cave temples, Tokyo, 1966, pls 295a–b（即《增訂中國佛教彫刻史研究》，吉川弘文館）。
6. 大和文華館 唐金銅如意輪觀音像館藏確定有，2023 年特展正式列出「金銅如意輪觀音像／中國・唐時代／大和文華館蔵」。這就是 Yongle 圖錄寫的 Yamato Bunkakan 唐六臂例。
館方／展覽（可開）：
7. 大都會 晚唐／五代鎏金銅菩薩（比蓮座，不是同尊）2019 圖錄說 Wisdom Embodied pl. A35：十世紀、別的菩薩，但蓮瓣做法、衣褶、面型同型。A35 是書後 checklist，館網沒有 A35 這個號。
最接近、可開圖的館藏頁：
唐末／五代 鎏金銅菩薩坐像，高 19.7 厘米，1989.363.220
五代 鎏金銅觀音，高 24.8 厘米，1974.268.5
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54083
8. 敦煌莫高窟藏经洞（17窟）
年代：唐（9世纪后半叶）851-900
名称：六臂如意轮观音
出处：敦煌莫高窟藏经洞（17窟）
材质：设色绢本
尺寸：高：111.0厘米 x 宽：74.5厘米
藏地：英国大英博物馆收藏斯坦因敦煌遗画
编号：1919,0101,0.10 Ch.xxvi.001
9. 後期作品：
永樂款鎏金銅二臂如意輪（遊戲坐、托腮），香港蘇富比 2010，拍品 2143，估 1,000–1,500 萬港元。姿近、臂數與時代不同，是明宮廷藏傳系統。
表格對比
例子 | 時代／材質 | 臂 | 高 | 與本器 |
本器（2019＝2026.63） | 晚唐／五代，鎏金銅 | 六 | 16.5 cm | — |
2026.3 月拍品 171 | 唐，鎏金銅 | 四 | 10 cm | 同題，小一號 |
莫高 14 窟 | 晚唐壁畫 | 六 | 壁面 | 圖像最接近 |
故宮敦煌紙本 | 唐，設色紙 | 六 | 28×30 cm | 圖像同系 |
大和文華館 | 唐，銅 | 六 | — | 館藏近例 |
永樂 2010.2143 | 明永樂，鎏金銅 | 二 | 較大 | 後世變體 |
FAQ - 銅鎏金如意輪觀世音菩薩坐像
Q1 如意輪觀音是什麼？
觀音密教化身之一，梵名 Cintamanicakra／Chintamanichakra，漢譯如意輪。持如意寶（cintamani）與法輪（chakra），六臂遊六道。日本稱如意輪觀音（Nyoirin Kannon），中土晚唐以後此式銅像很少。
An esoteric form of Avalokiteshvara holding the wish-jewel and the wheel. Six-armed Chinese gilt-bronze examples of the late Tang are scarce.
Q2 為什麼 2019 賣 206 萬，2026 只估 60–80 萬？
2019 是「車庫故事＋鑑定秀＋突然現身」疊加的爆發價。七年後市場已知、缺臂已消化，估價回到更冷靜的區間。是否再衝百萬，看現場，不能用 2019 當地板。
The 2019 price priced the story as much as the bronze. The 2026 estimate resets a known object with published losses.
Q3 和永樂二臂如意輪能比價嗎？
不能。永樂是宮廷藏傳造像系統，有款、二臂、彩面。本器是晚唐漢地密教六臂小銅。題材近，時代與市場完全不同。
No. Yongle two-armed palace bronzes are another category.
Q4 缺臂嚴不嚴重？
如果存世只有兩件，缺多幾條都不影響。2019 狀況已寫：右臂自肘缺、一左手指缺、飄帶與蓮莖末端缺。買家按殘件出價。
The losses were fully disclosed in 2019. It remains an incomplete six-armed image.
Q5 如何確認是如意輪而不是普通觀音？
遊戲坐＋托腮＋胸前寶珠＋法輪／蓮／念珠，冠中化佛。缺一臂仍能從剩餘持物與姿態判斷。敦煌 14 窟是圖像底本。
Rajalilasana, cheek on hand, jewel at the chest, plus wheel/lotus/mala and Amitabha in the crown.
Q6 來源怎麼看？
Winfrey 1968 年以前已藏，1999 年密蘇里遺產散出，2019 上拍。中間那層「車庫 $75–100」是媒體敘事，正式來源以 Winfrey 為起點。
Published chain starts with Winfrey by 1968. The garage-sale anecdote is press, not the catalogue’s first line.
Q7 鑑定看什麼？
鎏金與鑄縫是否同期；蓮瓣圓凸＋卷草是否晚唐做法；面型圓、眉弧、高髻化佛是否一體鑄出；缺斷口是否舊氧化而非新截。後仿常見座軟、金浮、六臂比例散。
Period gilding in the recesses, a three-tier bossed lotus, and old breaks—not bright, slack-cast copies.
Q8 四臂那件（2026 年 3 月 171）是同款嗎？
同題材、小很多、四臂。圖錄把它當作本器的「簡化近例」，不是一對。
Related iconography, not a pair. Smaller and four-armed.
蘇富比資料：
佛寶與法輪
重要銅鎏金如意輪觀世音菩薩坐像
本如意輪觀世音菩薩坐像法相慈悲，鑄工卓絕，衣褶流轉自然，諸臂伸展自然，各具姿態，為唐末密教佛像中極為罕見而重要之作。
諸佛當中，觀世音菩薩在中國信眾心目中地位最為崇高與普及，本像如意輪觀世音，梵名 Cintāmaṇicakra，乃觀音之密教化身。印度佛典東來中土之初，觀音菩薩旋即為廣大中國信衆崇拜，然而其諸種密教形相，則隨歷代密教經典之傳譯，經歷數百年漸次形成，詳情參考于君方，〈Guanyin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteshvara〉，該文錄於 Marsha Weidner 編，《Latter Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism 850-1850》，堪薩斯，1994年；作者論述相關密教形相之演進，其早期傳佈可上溯至東晉（317至420年），北周（557至581年）年間復有進一步發展。
本像姿勢，屬如意輪觀音造像典型，一手胸前執如意寶珠，一手舉法輪，一手執蓮莖，一手持念珠，其第六臂則下按蓮座。參考一例，六臂如意輪觀音，敦煌莫高窟第14窟晚唐壁畫，彩繪鮮麗，姿態與本像相同同，所持法器亦相近，作於唐末。
唐代乃中國佛教造像藝術巔峰時期，然而若干密教造像則存世極少，或與唐武宗會昌滅佛（842–846年）有關。大量寺院與佛像於該次法難中遭毀，其中尚未成鞏固體系之流派受影響尤鉅。
圖一 唐 銅鎏金如意輪觀世音菩薩像，錄於松原三郎，《中国仏敎彫刻史論》，東京，1995年，卷3，圖版752
迄今所知，與本像相近之如意輪觀音僅見一例，藏於大和文華館，奈良，圖載松原三郎，《中国仏敎彫刻史論》，東京，1995年，卷3，圖版752（圖一），作者斷代該例為唐代中晚期。該像姿態與本像幾乎一致，惟缺三臂，包括持如意寶珠之臂；蓮座及面部刻畫亦較本像略顯簡樸。
誠然，唐代密教造像，不論題材均存世極罕，如本像尺寸宏大、鑄工精妙者則更屬鳳毛麟角。現存作例多具相通特徵，或出自少數供上層社會或權貴禮佛之寺廟。比較芝加哥藝術博物館藏金剛薩埵銅像（館藏編號1966.481），原屬 James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf 收藏，圖載 Hugo Munsterberg，《Chinese Buddhist Bronzes》，Tokyo，1967 年，圖版81（圖二）。該像斷代八世紀晚期或九世紀早期，高冠、自然舒展之坐姿、覆於交疊雙腿上之裙褶，以及鏨刻蓮座，皆與本像相近。
左: 圖二 唐 銅鎏金金剛薩埵坐像 © 芝加哥藝術學院，芝加哥
右: 圖三 唐末 / 五代 銅鎏金菩薩坐像 © 大都會藝術博物館，紐約
又可參考一菩薩像，手持蓮莖，惟缺其他可辨識之特徵，圖載松原三郎，出處同上，圖版787a。其蓮座式樣幾與本像無異，寶冠瓔珞垂至地面，衣結刻劃清晰，鑄造較本像更厚重，然而淵源顯然相近。又有一相近作例，斷代十世紀，藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館，Denise Patry Leidy 與 Donna Strahan，《Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art》，紐黑文，2010年，圖版 A35（圖三）。如上所見，大都會博物館收藏之例蓮座，衣褶、身軀比例及面容均與本像非常相近，然而本像菩薩戴高寶冠，此例及前述松原三郎著述之例佛冠均較本品矮小。
另可比較兩銅像，似乎同屬相近密教系統，皆具近似高冠與蓮座。其一為菩薩像，手持如意寶珠，載於《 Tang Dynasty: Chinese Gold and Silver in American Collections》，代頓美術館，1984年，編號73，斷代八世紀，疑為虛空藏菩薩像；其二則為毘盧遮那佛像，藏於香港 慈山寺佛教藝術博物館（館藏編號2017．23），載於該館網站，面相與本像尤其相近，可資比較.
A rare gilt-bronze figure of Chintamanichakra Avalokiteshvara, Late Tang dynasty / Five Dynasties
Import Tariff
Auction Closed
September 17, 04:10 AM HKT
Estimate
600,000 - 800,000 USD
Lot Sold
2,048,000 USD
Description
the central standard mounted in a wood stand (2)
Height 6¼ in., 16.5 cm
Condition Report
Losses include one of the proper right arms (starting at the elbow), the fingers and wheel on one of the proper left hands, the ends of two sashes, the ends of the lotus stem. Surface with minute scattered nicks, and areas of loss to the gilding, all commensurate with age. Remains of red pigment in some recessed areas. The original stand is now lost.
Provenance
Collection of Trezevant Branam Winfrey (1912-1999), by 1968.
Missouri Private Collection, acquired from the estate of the above in Kirkwood, Missouri, 1999.
Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2019, lot 553.
THE JEWEL AND THE WHEEL
A RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF CHINTAMANICHAKRA
Magnificently cast with sumptuous flowing robes, six graceful arms and a serene and tender gaze, the present figure is a rare and important example of an elusive group of esoteric Buddhist figures from the late Tang dynasty.
A manifestation of the most beloved Buddhist deity in China — Avalokiteshvara, or Guanyin — the present figure represents a much rarer variation on the figure known in Sanskrit as Chintamanichakra or Ruyilun Guanyin in Chinese. While images of Avalokiteshvara quickly became adopted on the arrival of sutras from India, the adoption and adaption of more esoteric forms of the deity continued to develop as new writings were transmitted and translated in the ensuing centuries; see Chun-fang Yu, 'Guanyin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteshvara', in Marsha Weidner, Latter Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism 850-1850, Kansas, 1994, where the author traces the development of these esoteric forms through early transmission in the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) and further developments in the Northern Zhou (557-581 A.D.).
Chintamanichakra is often depicted in the same pose as the present, holding in the six arms the wish-granting jewel (chintamani) in front of the chest, the dharma wheel (chakra) in a raised palm, the stem of a lotus in another hand, a mala in another, and the sixth planted down for support. The murals of the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, in Cave 14, show a colorfully painted six-armed Chintamanichakra, in the same pose as the present example, and bearing the same attributes, executed in the late Tang period.
While the Tang dynasty is rightfully understood as a zenith of Buddhist image-making, some more esoteric designs from the period are particularly rare and may have been the victims of government suppression, such as during the Huichang Persecution of 842-846 CE, in which a large number of Buddhist statues and temples were demolished, apparently particularly catastrophic to less established visual schools.
To date, only one other Chintamanichakra of this type appears to be attested, preserved in the Yamato Bunkakan Museum, Nara, and illustrated in Saburo Matsubara, Chūgoku bukkyō chōkokushi ron [Historical discussion of Chinese Buddhist sculpture], vol. 3, Tokyo, 1995, pl. 752 (Fig.1), where the author dates the figure to the mid- to late Tang dynasty. Slightly more rudimentary in its casting, particularly in the rendering of the lotus pedestal and face, the Yamato example is almost identical in posture but with three of its arms broken including the one once holding the chintamani pearl.
Indeed, Tang dynasty esoteric figures of any subject matter are almost unheard of today, particularly of this substantial size and exceptional casting, with all surviving examples sharing common features and possibly produced for a small handful of elite devotional contexts. Compare a closely related esoteric figure – that of the bodhisattva Vajrasattva – preserved in the Art Institute of Chicago (accession no. 1966.481), formerly in the James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, from which it was illustrated in Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967, pl. 81 (Fig. 2). The Alsdorf figure, attributed to the late 8th or early 9th century, features a closely related tall crown, similarly loose posture and dhoti draping over crossed legs and chased lotus pedestal.
Also compare a bodhisattva grasping a lotus stem but lacking identifiable attributes, in Matsubara, op. cit., pl. 787a. With an almost identical pedestal design, a headdress that overflows to the ground and crisply rendered knots in the fabric, the figure is somewhat more thickly cast than the present but is clearly of related origin; as is a related figure in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York attributed to the 10th century in Denise Patry Leidy and Donna Strahan, Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven, 2010, pl. A35 (Fig. 3). As above, the Metropolitan Museum figure has a lotus petal base of the same distinctive design as the present example and closely related drapery, proportions, and facial modeling but, like the Matsubara figure, lacks the taller crown.
Two further bronze figures of note appear to be preserved from a related esoteric group bearing closely related high crowns and lotus pedestals. One bodhisattva, holding a chintamani, is attributed to the 8th century in Tang Dynasty: Chinese Gold and Silver in American Collections, Dayton Art Institute, 1984, cat. no. 73 and identified possibly as Akasagarbha; while the other, an image of the Vairochana Buddha himself, is preserved in the Tsz Shan Monastery Buddhist Art Museum, Hong Kong (accession no. 2017.23) and is illustrated on the Museum’s website bearing a particularly close comparison in its facial rendering.
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