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

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

JUDIT VINKOVICS TWO MONGOL SCULPTURES FROM THE FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EASTERN ASIATIC ART In Lamaism all religious works and representations of gods are called "supports", since they are aids to memory

1 and refer to the transcendent world they are intended to invoke. In order to have the appropriate impact, these works of art must follow the rules of iconography. In the almost unfailingly anonymous Lamaist art, where the primacy of religious content over artistic individuality is professed, works of individual artists can very rarely be identified. Since the use of physics and chemistry in dating is in its infancy and may never live up to our expectations of it, determining the date and place of origin of Lamaist works of art has to be based on consecratory dedications and the analysis of stylistic features. Because metal sculptures were cast mainly using the 'lost wax' (cire perduit) method, in the course of which the original models were destroyed, these sculptures must be regarded as individual pieces. It therefore seems justified to attempt an exploration of their creators' personalities, and even identities, where possible. The Mongols first encountered the teachings of Buddhism under the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368), although this First Conversion affected only the aristocracy living in Peking. The Second Conversion at the end of the sixteenth century, enjoying the support of the Tümet Altan Khan (1507-1582) in the South and the Khalkha Abatai Khan in the North, irreversibly transformed the religious beliefs of the Mongol people: ancient Shamanism was now surpassed by Lamaist Buddhism for good. The newly-founded and constructed monasteries were furnished with examples of religious art. These were partly brought in from abroad (Tibet, China), and were partly produced in the newly-established Mongol workshops which supplied valuable works from the very outset. As in the other Buddhist countries, religious art in Mongolia remained mostly anonymous. In the written and oral traditions, the name of only one exceptionally-talented artist has survived from earlier times. This belonged to the First Living Buddha of Urga, the First Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu, Dzanabadzar (1635-1723), a versatile talent of Mongolian culture and art. His parents, the Tüshetű Khan of Jenghis Khan's Golden Clan who was powerful among the Khalkhas, and his wife Khandjamts, wished their son to follow a religious career. From the age of fifteen the boy, who received personal tuition from both the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama, was believed to be the wordly reincarnation of Manjushri.

2 Manjushri, the God of Wisdom, was known to have been reincarnated on fifteen previous occasions in eminent personalities of India and Tibet since the age of Buddha (6th century B.C.) ; his fifteenth notable reincarnation being