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Lot Essay
This large and impressive figure of Guanyin (or Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit), the bodhisattva of compassion, is sculpted in sections and presented in the round. He is seated majestically with the legs crossed in front, and hands held in abhayamudra, the gesture of reassurance and safety. The surface shows remnants of the original gesso relief decoration that would have covered the figure in vivid colors. Remnants of this decoration appear on either side of the chest, with a phoenix appearing on the belly. Gilt details can be seen on the face, chest and on the elaborate ornaments below. By the Song dynasty, Guanyin had become the most popular of all Buddhist deities. Especially during the Song and Yuan dynasties, examples in wood were favored. However, wood as material is rather fugitive and as a consequence just a small number of such massive images have survived.
The present figure is stylistically related to other bodhisattva figures of Song-Jin dynasty date such as the large, polychrome wood figure of a seated bodhisattva from the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 58. (Fig. 1) The Ellsworth figure is of slightly smaller size (89.5 cm.) than the present work and is shown seated in padmasana, with similar treatment of the robes and the projections of the sleeves on the elbows. Another related figure is in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and illustrated by R. Jacobsen in Appreciating China, Gifts from Ruth and Bruce Dayton, Minneapolis, 2002, pp. 62-3, no. 30. The Minneapolis figure is larger than the present figure (126.2 cm.) and exhibits remarkably preserved decoration with red and black pigments and gilding, and fine details such as the mustache. The treatment of the hair on the Minneapolis figure is similar to that on the present figure, and the author notes that the elaborate hairstyle would have been originally encased by a gilt metal crown. See, also, a related wood figure of slightly smaller size (94 cm. high) and slightly earlier date (late 10th-early 11th century) in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, shown seated in a similar position and dressed in similarly draped robes, but with the hands held in a different mudra. (Fig. 2)
The result of Art Discovery radiocarbon (C14) dating test no. AD6329 is consistent with the dating of the figure.
The present figure is stylistically related to other bodhisattva figures of Song-Jin dynasty date such as the large, polychrome wood figure of a seated bodhisattva from the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 58. (Fig. 1) The Ellsworth figure is of slightly smaller size (89.5 cm.) than the present work and is shown seated in padmasana, with similar treatment of the robes and the projections of the sleeves on the elbows. Another related figure is in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and illustrated by R. Jacobsen in Appreciating China, Gifts from Ruth and Bruce Dayton, Minneapolis, 2002, pp. 62-3, no. 30. The Minneapolis figure is larger than the present figure (126.2 cm.) and exhibits remarkably preserved decoration with red and black pigments and gilding, and fine details such as the mustache. The treatment of the hair on the Minneapolis figure is similar to that on the present figure, and the author notes that the elaborate hairstyle would have been originally encased by a gilt metal crown. See, also, a related wood figure of slightly smaller size (94 cm. high) and slightly earlier date (late 10th-early 11th century) in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, shown seated in a similar position and dressed in similarly draped robes, but with the hands held in a different mudra. (Fig. 2)
The result of Art Discovery radiocarbon (C14) dating test no. AD6329 is consistent with the dating of the figure.