Reattibution of the Tibetan sculpture of Maitreya from the State Museum of Oriental Art collection

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of stylistic, technical, and technological features of the metal sculpture of the bodhisattva Maitreya from the State Museum of Oriental Art, which make it possible to attribute this work to the Tibetan artistic tradition of the 15th century. Its previous attribution was Western Tibet, 18th century, and this version was based on the nature of the alloy. However, we do not believe that this factor is a priority in this case. Thanks to numerous analogies, it is possible to identify the characteristic features of Western Tibetan works. For example, the attraction to archaic models and decorative details typical of Indian plastic art, as well as the lack of strict proportionality. At the same time, in the sculpture of Maitreya from the collection of the State Museum of Oriental Art, we find a number of features that are not found in Western Tibetan plastic art. Among these features, we can note the adherence to the iconometric canon, which ensures the balance of the figure's placement in space and the compositional “rhythm” of the work; a high level of detail of all internal volumes; the presence of such techniques as engraving and cabochon inlay of semiprecious stones and minerals, and inlay of metals of different colours (silver and copper); the nature of the models of the Bodhisattva's face and body parts. Another feature of the sculpture is the appeal to the Pala-Sena style, which developed in northeastern India from the 8th to the 12th centuries. The rulers of the Pala dynasty were adherents of Buddhism. By the 12th century, the territories of the Pala Empire were conquered by representatives of the Hindu Sena dynasty. During this period, Buddhism declined, and Buddhist sculptors migrated to Tibet. Tibetan masters turned to the artistic solutions of previous eras, and therefore numerous imitations of the Pala-Sena style have come down to us. Tibetan samples from the 14th–15th centuries represent a reinterpretation of proportions and shapes, which were reproduced by North Indian masters. On the basis of this school, the art of Tibetan metal sculpture flourished, due to the well-being of the socio-political situation of that time, which made it possible to concentrate labour and material resources in monasteries.