A RARE LARGE SILVER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF GUANYIN

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

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A RARE LARGE SILVER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF GUANYIN
17TH/18TH CENTURY

The figure is cast standing on bare feet with gentle facial features, her eyes downcast in contemplation and hair coiled into a topknot set by a short hairpin, with two further strands of hair falling about her shoulders, she holds an amphora in one hand while the other is concealed under her voluminous robe while supporting a ruyi sceptre along the left arm, the handle of the sceptre is inlaid with a stylised shou character in-between two further characters, ji xiang, her flowing robes are incised with ruyi clouds and inscribed along the back of her garment with Xuande Wujin Shisou (minor repairs to garment)
31 7/8 in. (81 cm.) high, carved lotus woodstand

Lot Essay

The inscription reads: Xuande metalwork made by Shisou.

Compare to a similar standing figure, also bearing a Shisou mark sold in New York, 19 March 1997, lot 39.

For a discussion on Shisou, the artisan monk who specialised in silver-inlaid bronzes active during the late Ming dynasty, see Tsang and Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, 1986, p. 178.

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