. esoteric buddhist art 491
appear as two main types: one holding his hands in the vajramuṣtī-̣
mudrā (Lutz and Howard 1991, 164–174, pls. 38–39), the other with
posture and gesture similar to that of the standard Śākyamuni images,
but with bodily ornaments (see, for example, Hang 1999, 61–63, pl. 1).^10
Buddhas with earrings and in half-lotus posture are distinct to the
Esoteric Buddhist iconography of the Bai (for examples of this see Li
1999, pls. 270–280). For some reason crowned images of Vairocana
are unknown, or at least they have not been identified.
As is also evident with many of the divinities in the Long Scroll, the
bronzes from Chongsheng Temple include several images, the iconog-
raphy and types of which are known elsewhere in the Esoteric Bud-
dhist pantheon from other parts of Central and East Asia. Among these
are various vidyārājas or mahākrodhas such as Vajrapāṇi, Mahākāla,
Hayagrīva (Li 1999, pls. 283–288), and a multi-armed, seated figure
with one leg bending, which reflects an iconography reminiscent of
later Tibetan depictions of the ḍākinī Kurukullā.^11 These images reveal
the existence of what appears to be “independent” or special cults of
Esoteric Buddhism in Dali.
In addition to the many pieces that have been recovered from stūpas
and pagodas in the Dali area of Yunnan, many Buddhist votive images
in bronze from museums and private collections have now been iden-
tified. This material adds significantly to our knowledge of the Bud-
dhist art of Dali and gives us new insights into the Esoteric Buddhist
iconography of the region.^12
dence, if not a direct match. See Sørensen, “Esoteric Buddhism in the Nanzhao and
Dali Kingdoms (ca. 800–1253),” in this volume.
(^10) It is possible that this form of Vairocana was conceived of as the main deity of
the Dharmadhātu Mandala. However, it may equally well have been associated with
the exoteric 11 Avataṃsaka sūtra.
Cf. Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, 78, pl. 153. Here it is said to represent Sarasvatī,
which is of course not correct. Due to the small figure of a buddha in the crown, it is
clear that we are dealing with an aspect of Avalokiteśvara. However, further research
will be needed before we can be certain which form this image is meant to be. 12
Musée Guimet holds in its collection an important four-armed Brāhmin-
Mahākāla seated on a kneeling bull. It is covered with gold leaf on a brown-patinated
bronze. The image has been placed in the section on Tibetan art but is identified as
being either Sichuanese or Yunnanese (Musée Guimet, inv. no. MA 6046 A+B). The
image has, however, been wrongly dated by the museum’s experts to be from the
Ming. Evidently it is a Yunnanese image from Dali and does not appear to predate
the thirteenth century. Its iconography is similar to the usual standing Brāhmin-
Mahākāla from Dali. Cf. Long Scroll, pl. 248.