Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 10. (Budapest, 1991)

VINKOVICS Judit: A Hopp Ferenc Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum két mongol szobráról

Indian prince, has the proportions of a young male body. The spine is arched backwards a little, but is otherwise straight ; the head is slightly inclined to the left. The figure is seated in the meditating pose. In its hands, which are crossed behind the pradnya, it holds the vajra and the bell: the symbols of the union of the male and the female principles creating the world. On the top of the hair, which is styled upward and painted blue, there is the ushnisha decorated with a burning jewel. On the forehead there is quite a tall five-pointed diadem with each of its precious stones enclosed in a flame-like ornamentation. The body and limbs of the figure are embellished with the following items of jewellery: a necklace, a garland, bracelets and armlets, and ankle chains decorated with repeated triratna (three jewels) design. The sculpture is not decorated as lavishly as the one in Gandan, but the workmanship is just as fine. The curving eyebrows and the lips, which are slightly open and painted red, lend a natural beauty to a face charged with emotions. The frontal view suggests that the figure is immersed in religious meditation. Turning the sculpture to the left, we initially see a gentle and loving smile that later changes into a proud awareness of first love. If we turn the sculpture to the right, we see the features of royal determination. Just like the main figure, Pradnyaparamita also wears a diadem and the dress of an Indian princess. She holds the hatchet slashing the roots of ignorance in one hand, and a skull-cup in the other. She has the body of a perfectly-proportioned young woman, with her spine slightly bending to the left. Her face, which is slightly turning to the right, shows religious contemplation. A unique compositional feature is that the lotus throne is organically incorporated into the composition, so that this compact sculpture together with its cylindrical base almost make a sphere. The sculpture a^d its base (even on the bottom) are immaculately gilded all over. The sacraments placed in the sculpture are still there. The second sculpture (with a total height of 205 mm) depicts the meditation bodhisattva Arapachana Manjushri, who is the embodiment of transcendental knowledge.

20 We have already mentioned that Dzanabadzar was worshipped as the worldly reincarnation of Manjushri. Although not recorded in his biographies, it seems likely that he created one or more sculptures of this very popular bodhisattva. The perfectly-proportioned young body of the seated figure, represented according to the iconographie rules,

21 radiates strength. The figure wears the jewellery of bodhisattvas and the garments of a prince. Its necklace is finely embellished with floral ornaments; its other jewellery is enriched with triratnas. The figure is seated in an upright position on the lotus throne, its spine slightly bent to the right on account of a gesture made with its right hand. The figure turns its head a little to the right. With its right hand held high it is parting the clouds of ignorance with a broad-bladed sword, while the Pradnyaparamita, the book of transcendental wisdom, is placed by its left shoulder, on a budding blue lotus. A five-leaf diadem with ornamentation identical to that of the Vajradhara sculpture crowns the figure's head and a large jewel set in flame-like ornamentation decorates its ushnisha. As in the earlier example, the gracefully curved eyes, the closed lips with a smile, and the wealth of emotion lend beauty to the countenance. The frontal view displays serious meditation, the right semi-profile a slightly erotic smile, and the left semi-profile manly determination. In this case the artist did not attempt to set the figure in a geometrical form ; on the contrary, he extracted it from one. The sculpture is characterized by the contrast between the stability of the seated position and the dynamism of the top section on the one hand, and between the horizontal plane