Page 54 - Bonhams Image of Devotion Hong Kong December 2, 2021

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A GILT LACQUER, POLYCHROME WOOD AND GESSO FIGURE OF
JINASAGARA AVALOKITESHVARA
MING DYNASTY, XUANDE PERIOD (1425-35)
Himalayan Art Resources item no.64935
55.9 cm (22 in.) high

HKD5,000,000 - 7,000,000
明 宣德時期（1425-35年）木雕漆金彩繪大悲勝海紅觀音像

Exhibited
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, 2006-2008 (no. 17.2006.A-B)

Provenance
Stuart Perrin, New York
Arnold Lieberman, New York, until 1981
Collection of Jeffrey Novick, Sausalito, California, 1981-1983
Collection of Douglas Rosestone, Santa Rosa, California, 1983-1996
Collection of Dr. Bruce Gordon, Mill Valley, California, 1996-2004
Private American Collection
Sotheby’s, New York, 16 September 2008, lot 173

The early decades of the 15th century are a high point of Chinese Buddhist
sculpture, with splendid gilt bronze images from the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande
(1425-35) periods among the finest sculptures ever made in China. Of the same
caliber as its metal counterparts, this large wooden figure is a much rarer and
significant example from the period.

Tibetan Buddhism became more widespread in China under the patronage of
the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty. This special status extended into the early Ming
dynasty and reached its zenith during the reign of the Yongle emperor, who was
a devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism. Numerous Buddhist sculptures were
produced following a distinctive and highly refined imperial style, the majority of
which were small and easily transportable bronzes either gifted to visiting Tibetan
dignitaries or sent to monasteries in Tibet. The subsequent Xuande emperor
curtailed patronage of Tibetan monasteries, and as a result, much fewer
Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist sculptures were produced during his reign—and these
were generally intended for worship in Han China. This Jinasagara belongs to
his small corpus of Xuande Vajrayana sculptures and is one of just two known
made of wood.

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