KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)

Details

A LARGE SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF GUANDI
KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
The figure is carved seated on a throne draped with a tiger’s pelt. His head tilts to one side with an amused expression on his face below a furrowed brow, his strong features are finely carved. He wears a scholar’s cap tied with a bow, and a long robe decorated with a ‘dragon and cloud’ design, which partially covers the armour he wears underneath, the draped sleeves are tied to reveal his hands. His right hand is raised clasped to his long beard and his left hand holds an open book. The stone of mottled ivory and reddish tone.
9 7/8 in. (25 cm.) high

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Lot Essay

Compare a figure of Guandi of the same size as the current lot dated to the 17th-18th century, in the Sloane Collection at the British Museum, London, accession no. SLMisc.1174, illustrated in Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, Oriental Ceramic Society, The British Museum, p. 107, pl. 119. The aesthetic of the figure is reminiscent of the lengthened proportions and elongated eyes found in late Ming dynasty woodblock prints by the painter Chen Hongshou (1599-1602).

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