MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF GUANDI
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
Seated on a tall throne with the hands resting on his thighs, dressed in elaborate armor with dragon-form epaulets worn under a long robe decorated in front with a leaping dragon and with incised cloud decoration at the hem that drapes over the left shoulder and between the legs where it is pulled up over the left knee, the face with fierce expression and well-groomed beard, the hair pulled up and hidden under a cloth cap
16¼ in. (41.2 cm.) high, base

Provenance

Acquired in 1980.

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Lot Essay

Guandi is the deified name of Guan Yu, who was the renowned third century general of the state of Shu, and was popularized by the fourteenth century historical novel Sanguo Yan Yi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). He is reputed to have been killed along with his adopted son Guan Ping and his trusted general Zhou Cang in Jingzhou by the army of Sun Quan, ruler of the state of Wu. By the Sui dynasty, Guan Yu had become deified. While his actions are reputed to be overly exaggerated in later accounts of his life, Guandi remains one of the most popular Chinese historical figures, and to this day is worshipped by Daoist and Buddhist practitioners as a guardian deity.

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