Page 29 - Fine Asian Art, Bonhams San Francisco June 27, 2017
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8034 8035
8034 holding an alms bowl and pointing with two fingers in the main arms
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF THE MEDICINE BUDDHA outstretched in front of her while fifteen additional hands all held in
Qing dynasty, 18th/19th century the karanamudra of expelling negativity flare out on either side; all
Identified by the myrobalan seed proffered by the figure’s right hand raised upon a lotus petal plinth.
outstretched in the varadamudra of bestowal while the left, drilled 10 1/4in (26cm) high
for a now lost alms-bowl, rests in the figure’s lap upon his legs held
in the dhyanasana posture of meditation, all raised upon a double US$2,500 - 4,000
plinth; the surfaces of the plinth and the figure’s attire highlighted in
gilt. The sow’s head discreetly cast to the back of the figure’s head
6 3/8in (16.2cm) high identifies the deity as the Daoist ‘Dipper Mother’ or ‘Doumu,’ as well
as highlights her relationship to the Buddhist Bodhisattva Marici. The
US$3,000 - 5,000 Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst has a lacquer statue of this deity
with a similarly rendered head and expression dated to the Song
8035 dynasty. See as well the Dehua porcelain version in the collection
A CAST-BRONZE FIGURE OF DOUMU of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco which shares intriguing
Qing dynasty similarities in the rendering of the garments, as published in He Li,
The ‘Dipper Mother’ (also Doulao Yuanjun) depicted standing in Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey from the Asian Art
flowing robes adorned in elaborate jewelry and in tassels highlighted Museum of San Francisco (New York: Rizzoli International, 1996), pl.
in gilt, her calm expression surmounted by a tall top knot without 681.
ushnisha and reversed by two human faces and a sow’s head,
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