CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, ÉPOQUE QIANLONG (1736-1795)

Buddhism flourished during the Qing dynasty, supported by the devotion of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong emperors, and their successors. As a result, the production of Buddhist statuary, ritual objects, vessels, and other implements became widespread, with a variety of materials being used in their manufacture. While jade was one of these materials, the present figure depicting Buddha Shakyamuni wearing a shawl made of bodhi leaves appears to be quite rare.
See a larger white jade Buddha (23.5 cm) with very similar features to the present example from the Stephen Junkunc III collection, sold at Christie's New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1104. A smaller (13.6 cm) white jade seated Buddha, dated to the mid-Qing dynasty, is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated by Yang Boda in Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, vol. 12, Hong Kong, 1997, no. 103. Also, compare a larger (21 cm) seated white jade figure of Pindola, formerly in the Nott Collection, illustrated in Chinese Jades in the Stanley Charles Nott Collection, West Palm Beach, 1942, pl. XII, where it is dated to the Jiaqing period. A small jade Amitayus (7.7 cm) is illustrated in Monarchy and Its Buddhist Way: Tibetan-Buddhist Ritual Implements in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1999, no. 29. The National Museum figure is designed specifically for placement within a turquoise-inlaid stupa, accounting for its smaller size. A celadon jade figure of Sakyamuni holding a small stupa is illustrated in Treasures from Snow Mountains: Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, 2001, no. 37.