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Lot Essay
The carved inscription on the front of the base could be translated as follow:
'Faithful Xu Rigao (?), from the Benevolence and Justice district, made a vow to carve and adorn a statue of Guizimu, for the present [to the devotees] of the hermitage of Mount East, present offerings to her and pray to her for fame and glory, the establishment of children and the longevity of all. An auspicious day in the first month of the year dingwei (1607) of the Wanli's reign.'
The back of the base is signed by Jiang Zong.
Guizimu, also known as Hariti, is both a revered goddess and demon, depending on the Buddhist tradition. As one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities of Mahayana Buddhism, she is often regarded for the protection of children and women especially in Southern China. Representations of Guizimu of this size and quality are extremely rare. Compare to a Ming dynasty monumental statue of Guizimu, in the Shanhua Temple, Shahua Si, in Datong, Shanxi Province.
The quality and style of our present figure can be identified as the epitome of the Fujian traditional craftsmanship. Influenced by both Fujian and the Vietnamese culture, the gorgeous gold lacquer and meticulously carved details are outstanding on our present sculpture. The harmonious lines of the female deity clearly remind us of the best examples of late Ming dehua figures of Guanyin. Two examples, sized 87.6 cm. and 90.2 cm, which are considered to have been made at an early date and in monumental form, are illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine: Monographs on Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1969, plates 81A and 81B. See a highly comparable figure of ?????, in the collection of ???? museum, China.
The dating is consistent with the CIRAM C14 test no.0922-OA-852B, 26 September 2022.
'Faithful Xu Rigao (?), from the Benevolence and Justice district, made a vow to carve and adorn a statue of Guizimu, for the present [to the devotees] of the hermitage of Mount East, present offerings to her and pray to her for fame and glory, the establishment of children and the longevity of all. An auspicious day in the first month of the year dingwei (1607) of the Wanli's reign.'
The back of the base is signed by Jiang Zong.
Guizimu, also known as Hariti, is both a revered goddess and demon, depending on the Buddhist tradition. As one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities of Mahayana Buddhism, she is often regarded for the protection of children and women especially in Southern China. Representations of Guizimu of this size and quality are extremely rare. Compare to a Ming dynasty monumental statue of Guizimu, in the Shanhua Temple, Shahua Si, in Datong, Shanxi Province.
The quality and style of our present figure can be identified as the epitome of the Fujian traditional craftsmanship. Influenced by both Fujian and the Vietnamese culture, the gorgeous gold lacquer and meticulously carved details are outstanding on our present sculpture. The harmonious lines of the female deity clearly remind us of the best examples of late Ming dehua figures of Guanyin. Two examples, sized 87.6 cm. and 90.2 cm, which are considered to have been made at an early date and in monumental form, are illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine: Monographs on Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1969, plates 81A and 81B. See a highly comparable figure of ?????, in the collection of ???? museum, China.
The dating is consistent with the CIRAM C14 test no.0922-OA-852B, 26 September 2022.