Page 28 - Sotheby's Paris Arts D' Asia, June 11, 2019

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ANCIENNE COLLECTION PARTICULIÈRE FRANÇAISE The artists working in the imperial workshops during the
Yongle period remain anonymous, but their sculptures
IMPORTANTE STATUETTE DE BODHISATTVA
EN BRONZE DORÉ have now become recognised as being among the most
important works of art from the Buddhist world. Some fifty-
MARQUE ET ÉPOQUE YONGLE four gilt bronzes bearing the inscription Da Ming Yongle nian
shi (bestowed in the Yongle era of the great Ming) have been
sereinement assis en vajrasana sur un double socle documented in Tibetan monastery collections, see Ulrich von
lotiforme, les mains tenant initiallement des attributs, le Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol.
visage en méditation orné sur le front de l’urna, les paupières II, pp. 1237-1291. These works have survived in Tibet largely
baissées, les lèvres finement dessinées esquissant un due to imperial patronage lavished on Tibetan hierarchs and
sourire, les cheveux retenus en un haut chignon surmonté monasteries during the reign of Zhu Di, who pursued a bountiful
par un bijou derrière une tiare à cinq fleurons, vêtu d’un fin relationship with Tibetan religious leaders during his reign as
dhoti finement plissé attaché par une ceinture de perles et Yongle (Perpetual Happiness) Emperor.
paré de précieux bijoux, marque Da Ming Yongle nianshi
incisée sur le socle, scellée The stylistic origin of Yongle gilt bronzes can be traced
to the Yuan dynasty, when the court espoused Tibetan
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13671 Buddhism. Early fourteenth century woodblocks made for
21 cm, 8¼in. the monastery of Yangshen Yuan, Hangzhou, are evidence of
a new style appearing in Chinese Buddhist art, see Heather
PROVENANCE Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, Warminster, 1975, pp. 47-50,
Collection André Schoeller (1877-1956), Paris. pls. 26, 29 and 30. The gently smiling faces, full rounded
Ader, Paris, 14th, 15th and 16th May 1956, lot 124. figures and tiered thrones in these woodblock prints reflect
Thence in the family by descent. the Newar styles favoured in Tibet, and introduced into China
by Nepalese artists.
A rare well-cast gilt-bronze figure of a Bodhisattva,
Yongle mark and period This elegant bronze figure of a Bodhisattva was originally
acquired in 1956 from the sale of the collection of André
100 000-200 000 € Schoeller at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, together with the four
875 000-1 750 000HK$ 112 000-223 000 US$ Japanese tea bowls chawan offered in this sale, lots 103
to 106. While the identity of the figure is not entirely clear,
明永樂 鎏金銅菩薩坐像 the positioning of the hands indicates that it may represent
Manjushri. The figure’s right hand may have held a sword
《大明永樂年施》款 while the other hand in the lowered position may have held
a book, compare a very similar figure of Manjushri in the
來源 collection of the British Museum, London, illustrated in Ulrich
André Schoeller （1877-1956）舊藏， 巴黎 von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981,
巴黎Ader， 1956年 14、15、16日， 編號124 pp. 516-517, fig. 144G.
後家族流傳至今

Mark

Other view
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