A Rare Large Gilt and Painted Wood Figure of a Guardian King

JIN/YUAN DYNASTY

Details

A Rare Large Gilt and Painted Wood Figure of a Guardian King
Jin/Yuan Dynasty
Well carved holding a hollowed globular object in the right hand, the left held in a fist, wearing finely detailed armor secured with straps, knotted sashes and a belt with 'jade' appliques, the decorative borders executed in raised gesso, his face with fierce expression and his hair drawn up into a topknot behind a foliate crown, extensive gilding and red, black and orangy-red pigment remaining
46in. (118.8cm.) high, stand

Exhibited

Taipei, National Palace Museum, The Art of Contemplation: Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, 1997, no. 94

Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Ancient Chinese Sculptural Treasures: Carvings in Wood, June 1998, no. 37

Lot Essay

Compare the large standing figure of a guardian king with similar facial expression and related armor dated slightly later, to the Ming dynasty, from the Shanhua Si, Datong and illustrated in Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, Beijing, 1991, no. 274.

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