Page 312 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

The Property of a Lady 女士藏品

280
A gilt and painted bronze figure of Avalokitesvara on a
peacock stand
Late Ming Dynasty
The figure cast with eyes downcast on the primary face and
two further faces at the back each under a peak of the five-
pointed crown above a green-painted shawl over the shoulders
and flowing down over the lower arms clasped in prayer in
front of the bare chest, two further arms on each side variously
holding a knife, a bell and other attributes, the figure seated on
an elaborate lotus pedestal perched atop the broad back of a
peacock with spreading wings and crested tail, standing squarely
on two straight legs each terminating in four claws on a further
lotus pedestal.
Overall 60.6cm (23 7/8in) high (2).
£8,000 - 12,000
HK$94,000 - 140,000 CNY75,000 - 110,000

明晚期 銅鎏金漆繪孔雀明王像

Provenance: a Belgian private collection

來源：比利時私人收藏

The Property of a Gentleman 紳士藏品

281 *

A large unusual lacquered and gilt-bronze figure of Zhang
Fei and stand
Late Ming Dynasty
Heavily cast seated on a separate base with a throne back, the
figure fiercely frowning beneath a high cap embellished with
mountains at the front and fastened with a large pin, the hands
holding a bronze tablet in front of the chest decorated with a
rectangular pendant flanked by tassels, the long robe edged with
incised borders and flowing over the knees towards the feet.
55cm (21 5/8in) high
£10,000 - 15,000
HK$120,000 - 180,000 CNY94,000 - 140,000

明晚期 銅鎏金漆繪張飛坐像連座

Provenance: a Western private collection

來源：西方私人收藏

This bronze statue depicts the real historical figure of Zhang
Fei (died AD.221) who became glorified in the Ming Dynasty
historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, attributed to
Luo Guanzhong. His deification however, started long before this
most famous piece of literature was published.

But it was from the mid to late Ming especially that the worship
revolving around China’s military heroes, such as Zhang Fei,
strengthened. This was due in part to the Tumu crisis of 1449,
when the Ming Emperor Zhengtong went on a haphazard military
campaign against the Mongols, and was humiliatingly taken
hostage. Suddenly, memories of the last Northern Song Emperor
Huizong being captured and taken north by the Jurchens in
1127 were resurrected, as were the military heroes such as Yue
Fei (1103-1142) that wished to fight the northern hordes. As
such, whenever the Ming empire was under threat from foreign
invasion, the cult of military heroes strengthened; and temples
and shrines dedicated to Zhang Fei sprang up across the empire.

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