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Lot Essay
This finely carved figure retains all of the sense of robust power and majesty seen in figures of Tang, Song and Jin dynasty date. The folds of the drapery in the shawl, scarves and dhoti worn by this figure are reminiscent of that seen in painted wood figures of Song date, but the small, pursed mouth, the slender nose and oblique eyes, combined with the crown are more similar to those found in Ming painted sculpture.
The long scarf draping over the shoulders and trailing to the base appears to be a characteristic of sculpture of the Yuan to Ming dynasty. See, for example, two large painted wood figures of bodhisattvas, each measuring 220 cm., from the Liang-sheng T'ang Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculpture II, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, 2000, pp. 94-7, nos. 37 and 38. Similar treatment of the drapery can be found on a smaller figure (measuring 166 cm. high) from the same collection, illustrated ibid., p. 102-3, no. 41.
The long scarf draping over the shoulders and trailing to the base appears to be a characteristic of sculpture of the Yuan to Ming dynasty. See, for example, two large painted wood figures of bodhisattvas, each measuring 220 cm., from the Liang-sheng T'ang Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculpture II, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, 2000, pp. 94-7, nos. 37 and 38. Similar treatment of the drapery can be found on a smaller figure (measuring 166 cm. high) from the same collection, illustrated ibid., p. 102-3, no. 41.