MING DYNASTY, DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO THE 22ND YEAR OF CHENGHUA, CORRESPONDING TO 1486, AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

A VERY RARE LARGE DOCUMENTARY STONE FIGURE OF GUANYIN
MING DYNASTY, DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO THE 22ND YEAR OF CHENGHUA, CORRESPONDING TO 1486, AND OF THE PERIOD
The bodhisattva is shown seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base, with the hands lowered in dhyanamudra. The figure wears an undergarment tied around the waist and a loose outer robe well carved with rhythmic folds and pleats open at the chest to reveal an elaborate beaded necklace. The sensitively carved face has a serene expression and down-cast eyes. The back of the figure is inscribed with a lengthy inscription.
35 1⁄2 in. (90.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Christie's Hong Kong, 29 September 1992, lot 899.

Literature

Fojiao Diaosu Mingpin Tulu (Images of Famous Buddhist Sculpture), Beijing, 1997, p. 480, no. 460.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The inscription on the reverse is worn and only partially legible, but mentions a temple in Kaifeng and that a monk named Zhilu made the sculpture. The inscription also incorporates a date: third month, 22nd year of Chenghua (1486).

Other large, dated stone Buddhist figures from the Ming dynasty include the figure of Mahasthamaprapta from Xinxiang city, bearing a date corresponding to 1412 of the Yongle period, and the figure of Amitabha Buddha from Xianhua Monastery, Longyao county, bearing a date corresponding to 1497 of the Hongzhi period, illustrated by Li Jingjie in Shifo Xuancui (Essence of Buddhistic Statues), Beijing, 1995, p. 165, no. 145 and p. 166, no. 146, respectively.

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