Gilt bronze Buddha - Kondobutsu

Japanese: 金銅仏 - こんどうぶつ

These are copper-cast Buddha statues plated with gold (a process in which pure gold is dissolved in mercury and applied to the surface). Because of the belief that the Buddha's body was made of gold, these statues were widely produced throughout the Buddhist world, including India, China, and Japan, but many of the surviving examples have had the gold peeling off.

[Akio Sato]

history

India

Cast bronze statues have been made since ancient times, and numerous animal figures and nude female figures have been excavated from the ruins of Mohenjo Daro, which flourished around 2000 BC. It is believed that many bronze cast Buddhas were also made as Buddhism spread, but since most of them have been excavated, it is not clear whether they were gilded or not. However, there are records that in the 11th century, Muslims obtained many gold and silver statues when they plundered temples in Mathura, the former center of Buddhism, so it is assumed that there were quite a few gilt bronze Buddhas. A representative example in India is a standing Buddha from around the 5th century (Birmingham Museum), but small bronze and brass votive statues from the Pala period, from the 8th to 11th centuries, remain. Although some bronze statues can be found in Sri Lanka and Burma (Myanmar), many gilt bronze Buddhas with ethnic characteristics can be seen in Thailand from the 12th century onwards.

[Akio Sato]

China

Bronzeware has been around since ancient times, and many bird and animal statues were made, but with the introduction of Buddhism, statues of the Buddha were made, and gilding techniques were also developed early on, so all small statues around the 4th century were gilt bronze Buddhas (also called 'ryukin' statues in China). Unlike cliff-carved Buddhas or independent stone Buddhas, these were likely made as personal Buddhas, but there are records of a 13-meter-tall gilt bronze standing Buddha statue being made in the mid-5th century, suggesting a trend toward placing large gilt bronze Buddhas in temples as well. In the second half of the 5th century, compared to the simple designs of the past, statues, halos, and pedestals became more intricately detailed, and the backs of statues also became more decorative, with reliefs being applied to the backs. Then, in the early 6th century, the Northern Wei Dynasty saw the rise of Buddhist sculpture, and coupled with the proliferation of wooden temples in cities, gilt bronze Buddha statues also reached their peak, with many large statues being made. One of the peaks is the set of standing Maitreya Buddha statues, inscribed with the date of the 5th year of the Shoko era (524) (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). At the end of the 6th century, during the Sui dynasty, gilt bronze Buddhas became more elaborate and demonstrated the pinnacle of craft techniques, and a representative example of this is the set of bronze Amida statues, inscribed with the date of the 13th year of the Kaihuang era (593) (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). The Tang dynasty is considered the golden age of Buddhist sculpture, and there are many gilt bronze Buddhas that are more graceful and realistic than those in the rock caves, but there are very few inscribed ones, making it difficult to trace the course of their development. In the 11th century, during the Song Dynasty, gilt bronze Buddhas gradually declined and iron statues became more common, while clay and wooden statues began to stand out.

[Akio Sato]

Korea

Buddhism was introduced to Korea during the Three Kingdoms period, in Goguryeo and Baekje in the second half of the 4th century, and in Silla in the first half of the 6th century. Both countries were influenced by the Six Dynasties period of China, and two statues of the Pensive Bodhisattva (Seoul, National Museum of Korea) are outstanding examples of this period. When Silla unified the peninsula in the mid-7th century, many plump, realistic statues in the Tang Dynasty style were created, and the two seated Tathagata statues at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju are representative examples.

[Akio Sato]

Japan

In Japan, the first full-scale temple in Japan, Asuka-dera, was founded in 606 (the 14th year of the reign of Empress Suiko), and a gilt bronze Buddha of 180 cm tall made by the sculptor Tori was enshrined there. From then on, the 7th and 8th centuries saw the height of its prosperity in terms of both quality and quantity, eventually resulting in the casting of the 16-meter-tall Rushanabutsu (Great Buddha of Nara) at Todai-ji Temple. However, in the 9th century, the style gradually declined as a result of the rise of wood carving, and it was not until the 13th century that it was seen again. During the Kamakura period, the restoration of the Great Buddha that had survived the burning of Nara, the creation of the Great Buddha of Kamakura, and the popularity of the Zenkoji-style triad statues were all the rage, but these did not dominate the mainstream as they had in the past, and were merely a by-product of Kamakura sculpture. After the Muromachi period, the quality of Buddhist sculpture as a whole declined, and there were no worthy gilt bronze Buddhas to be seen.

[Akio Sato]

Production method

The base metal is similar to modern bronze, and is often an alloy of about 90% copper and tin with small amounts of lead and zinc. There are two main casting methods, depending on the material of the original mold. The first is wax casting, in which a core, which corresponds to the hollow part of the body of the statue to be made, is made from clay, and then beeswax is piled on top of it to the same thickness as the copper to create the original mold. The outside of the core is then covered with clay to harden it, and the outer mold is then dried and baked over charcoal to melt the wax, and molten copper is poured into the space to create the mold. In the case of "solid" statues, which have no hollow parts inside the body, the entire body is made from wax, but this requires large amounts of both wax and copper, and is heavy, so it was used mainly for small statues. Also, when using a core, various ingenious methods were used, such as embedding a metal piece to fix the core in place, or inserting a metal rod called a kogai through the outer mold and the core, because if the core shifts to one side after the wax is released, it will not be possible to maintain a constant gap. Most of the gilt bronze Buddhas from the Asuka and Nara periods were made using this method of wax casting, and the finished product has a unique softness and is beautiful, but this method is no longer used today.

The other method is to make a prototype of the Buddha statue out of wood or clay, then make a mold from this using sand containing clay to create the outer mold. This is then filled with clay again to create a mold of the same shape as the original, and the surface is then carved away to the thickness of the copper to create the core. The outer mold is then placed over the core, and after being worked to ensure it does not move, it is fired over charcoal, and molten copper is poured into the gap between the outer mold and the core.

The statues made in this way are completed by filling in any missing parts with copper, scraping the surface clean with a chisel, polishing it, and then plating it with mercury (amalgam plating). The hair, eyebrows, pupils, lips, clothing, etc. are often painted.

[Akio Sato]

"Asuka and Hakuho Gilt Bronze Buddhas with Inscriptions" edited by the Asuka Museum of the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (1979, Dohosha)" ▽ "Study of Korean Gilt Bronze Buddhas: Genealogy of Ancient Korean Gilt Bronze Buddhas" by Saburo Matsubara (1985, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Gilt bronze Maitreya Buddha statue
Inscribed with the year 524. Total height 76.8 cm. Excavated in the suburbs of Zhengding, Hebei Province, China . Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Gilt bronze Maitreya Buddha statue

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

銅製鋳物(いもの)に金めっき（純金を水銀で溶かして塗る鍍金(ときん)）を施した仏像。仏身が黄金造りであったとの信仰から、インド、中国をはじめわが国を含む仏教世界で広く製作されたが、遺品では金色の剥落(はくらく)したものも多い。

［佐藤昭夫］

歴史

インド

古くから銅鋳物の像がつくられ、紀元前2000年ごろ栄えたモヘンジョ・ダーロ遺跡からは、多数の動物像や女性裸像が出土している。したがって、仏教の布教に伴い多くの鋳銅仏もつくられたとみられるが、そのほとんどが出土品なので鍍金の有無は明らかでない。しかし、11世紀に入って、イスラム教徒がかつての仏教の中心地マトゥラの寺院を略奪したとき多数の金銀像を得たとの記録もあり、金銅仏もかなりあったと想像される。インドにおける代表的なものに、5世紀ごろの仏立像（バーミンガム博物館）があるが、下って8～11世紀のパーラ時代のものとして、青銅や真鍮(しんちゅう)の奉献用の小像が残っている。なお青銅像はスリランカやビルマ（ミャンマー）にも多少みられるが、12世紀以降のタイに民族的な特色を加味した金銅仏が多く見受けられる。

［佐藤昭夫］

中国

古くから青銅器の伝統をもち、多くの禽獣(きんじゅう)像などがつくられていたが、仏教の伝来により仏像がつくられ、また鍍金の技術も早くから発達していたので、4世紀ごろの小像はすべて金銅仏（中国では鎏金(りゅうきん)像ともいう）であった。これらは磨崖仏(まがいぶつ)（摩崖仏）や独立した石仏と異なり、個人の念持仏としてつくられたものであろうが、5世紀なかばには13メートルにも達する金銅の釈迦(しゃか)立像がつくられた記録があり、寺院でも大金銅仏を安置する傾向のあったことがうかがわれる。5世紀後半になると、それまでの素朴なものに比し、像はもとより光背(こうはい)、台座に至るまで細緻(さいち)を極め、裏面にも浮彫り像を施すなど装飾的な傾向を強めた。そして6世紀初頭には北魏(ほくぎ)の造仏隆盛期を迎え、都市木造寺院の乱立と相まって金銅仏造像も最盛期に達し、大きな像も多数つくられた。その一頂点を示すのが正光5年（524）銘の弥勒(みろく)仏立像一具（ニューヨーク、メトロポリタン美術館）である。さらに6世紀末、隋(ずい)代に入ると、金銅仏はより精巧さを加え、工芸技法の粋を示すものとなるが、開皇13年（593）銘の青銅阿弥陀(あみだ)像一具（ボストン美術館）はその代表例といえる。唐(とう)代は仏教彫刻の黄金期とされ、石窟(せっくつ)像に比べ優美で写実的な金銅仏が数多くみられるが、銘記されたものはほとんどなく、その発展の軌跡をたどるのは困難である。11世紀も宋(そう)代に入ると、金銅仏はしだいに衰退して鉄像が多くなり、また塑像、木像に特色が発揮されるようになる。

［佐藤昭夫］

朝鮮

仏教の伝来は三国時代であり、高句麗(こうくり)と百済(くだら)には4世紀後半、新羅(しらぎ)には6世紀前半ごろとされている。いずれの国も中国六朝(りくちょう)時代の影響下にあり、この時代の傑出したものとして2体の半跏思惟菩薩(はんかしいぼさつ)像（ソウル、国立中央博物館）がある。7世紀なかばに新羅が半島を統一すると、唐風のふくよかで写実的な像が多くつくられ、慶州仏国寺の2体の如来坐像(にょらいざぞう)はその代表例である。

［佐藤昭夫］

日本

わが国では、606年（推古天皇14）に本邦初の本格的寺院飛鳥(あすか)寺が創建され、止利(とり)仏師の手になる丈六の金銅仏が安置されたのに始まる。以来7～8世紀にかけて質・量ともに全盛期を迎え、ついには高さ16メートルにも及ぶ東大寺の盧遮那仏(るしゃなぶつ)（奈良の大仏）が鋳造されるに至った。しかし9世紀に入ると木彫の波に押されてしだいに衰退し、ふたたび日の目をみるのは13世紀に入ってからである。南都焼討ちに遭遇した大仏の復興、鎌倉大仏の制作、あるいは善光寺式三尊像などが流行した鎌倉時代であるが、これもかつてのような主流を占めるに至らず、鎌倉彫刻の傍流にすぎなかった。室町時代以降は仏像彫刻全体の質的低下とともに、金銅仏にもみるべきものがない。

［佐藤昭夫］

製作法

地金は現在のブロンズ（青銅）に近く、約90％の銅と錫(すず)、微量の鉛や亜鉛などの合金が多い。鋳造法は原型の材質により、二つに大別される。一つは蝋型(ろうがた)鋳物で、まず中子(なかご)、つまりつくられるべき像の体内の中空部に相当するものを土でつくり、その上に銅の厚みだけ蜜蝋(みつろう)を盛って原型をつくる。次にその外側に土をかぶせて固めて外型とし、乾燥させてから炭火で焼いて蝋を溶かし出し、その空間に溶銅を流し込んでつくる。体内に中空部のない「むく」像の場合は全体を蝋でつくるが、蝋、銅ともに大量に必要とし、重量的にもかさむので、もっぱら小像に用いられた。また中子を用いる場合も種々くふうを凝らし、蝋を出したあと中子が一方に寄ると一定のすきまが保てないので、中子を固定するため金属片を埋め込むとか、笄(こうがい)とよぶ金属の棒状のものを外型と中子に刺し通すなどの方法がとられた。飛鳥・奈良時代の金銅仏のほとんどはこの蝋型鋳物でつくられ、仕上がりが特有のやわらかさをもって美しいが、現在では行われていない。

　いま一つの方法は、木や土で仏像の原型をつくり、これから粘土を含んだ砂で型をとって外型をつくる。さらにもう一度これに土を埋めて原型と同形のものをつくったうえで、その表面を銅厚の分だけ削り取って中子とする。中子の上に外型をかぶせ、動かぬよう工作したうえで炭火で焼きしめ、外型と中子のすきまに溶銅を流し込む方法である。

　このようにしてつくられた像の鋳損じ部分に銅を埋めたり、表面を鏨(たがね)できれいに削ったり、磨いたあと水銀鍍金（アマルガムめっき）を施して完成するが、髪、眉(まゆ)、瞳(ひとみ)、唇、衣などに彩色を施すことも多い。

［佐藤昭夫］

『奈良国立文化財研究所飛鳥資料館編『飛鳥・白鳳の在銘金銅仏』（1979・同朋舎）』▽『松原三郎著『韓国金銅仏研究　古代朝鮮金銅仏の系譜』（1985・吉川弘文館）』

[参照項目] | 飛鳥寺 | 東大寺 | 止利仏師 | 仏教 | 仏像 | モヘンジョ・ダーロ

金銅弥勒仏立像
524年銘。全高76.8cm　中国　河北省正定郊外出土メトロポリタン美術館所蔵">

金銅弥勒仏立像

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