Chinese Works of Art
A gilt bronze standing figure of a dharma protector 銅鎏金護法立像
Further images
Literature
Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967, pl. 91, for a smaller closely related Tang gilt bronze guardian figure from the collection of Ivan Hart.
Saburo Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: A Study Based on Bronze and Stone Statues Other Than Works from Cave Temples, Tokyo, 1966, pls 254a to 254d, for related Tang gilt bronze guardian figures.
Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967, pl. 89, for a smaller example (12 cm), formerly in the collection of James (1913 to 1990) and Marilyn (1925 to 2019) Alsdorf, later sold Christie’s, 23 to 24 March 1998, lot 529, and again 23 September 2020, lot 591.
Saburo Matsubara, Chuugoku Bukkyo Chokokushi Ron, vol. 3, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Daoism Sculpture, Tokyo, 1995, pl. 669(a), for a related guardian standing on the shoulders of a crouching demon, wearing more ornate armour.
Fojiao Diaosu Mingpin Tulu, Beijing, 1997, p. 552, no. 529, for a further related figure attributed to the Tang dynasty.
A gilt bronze standing figure of a dharma protector 銅鎏金護法立像, Tang dynasty (618 to 907)
Dvarapala, or dharma protectors, are traditionally conceived as fierce guardian figures, with taut musculature and animated, forceful poses. This finely cast Tang dynasty example is rare for its strongly humanised presence, reflecting the Chinese reworking of a type ultimately derived from Indian Gupta prototypes (circa AD 320 to 550), in which guardian figures could be rendered with a more naturalistic anatomy and a heightened sense of corporeal volume.
Here, the protector is presented with a vigorous stance and a concentrated expression, yet with an elegance of modelling that softens the ferocity typical of later, more exaggerated representations. Notably, the figure is adorned in a manner closer to an Indian bodhisattva, with scarves, earrings, and jewellery, an iconographic choice that underscores the cosmopolitan visual language of Tang Buddhist sculpture and the assimilation of foreign models within a distinctly Chinese aesthetic.
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