Page 95 - Bonhams, Roger Keverne Moving on Part 1 May 11, 2021 London

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A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF AN OFFICIAL
Mid Ming Dynasty
Well cast standing on a slightly flared rectangular plinth raised on
shaped supports, wearing long flowing robes adorned at the front with
a quatrelobed cartouche enclosing floral decoration, holding in his right
hand a belt above his slightly rotund belly, his neck framed by a collar,
gazing forward with his head crowned by an official’s hat, traces of
gilding remaining. 25.6cm (10 2/16in) high.
£1,500 - 2,000
CNY14,000 - 18,000
Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價

明中期 銅文官像

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer
Exhibition, London, 2006, no.10

展覽著錄：Roger Keverne Ltd.，《夏季展覽》，倫敦，2006年，
編號10

Such attire represented the typical dress code for civil officials of high
rank. Following the sumptuary laws of 1391, which regulated Ming
dynasty dress, the classical Chinese clothing traditions of the Tang
and Song dynasties were revived. Tang and Song official costumes
themselves can be traced even further back, to the Han dynasty.
The long robe with wide sleeves, the sash embellished with beaded
jewellery, the rectangular office plaque across the chest were all
part of Han dynasty court apparel. One can, therefore, find a close
similarity between traditional attires of Chinese court officials over many
centuries. Nowhere can this be observed as clearly as on the larger-
than-life stone figures of civil officials lining the spirit roads leading to
their emperors’ mausoleums. See Ann Paludan, The Chinese Spirit
Road, New Haven and London, 1991, pl.142 a Tang example, pls
167- 8; two Song examples, pls 202, 205, 213, 228 and 230; several
Ming examples.

See a similar bronze figure of a eunuch, Ming dynasty, from the
collection of Wang Shixiang, illustrated in Zi zhen ji: Wang Shixiang ji,
Beijing, 2017, p.63. 146

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