Page 64 - Chinese Jades Nov 30 2017 Hong Kong

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A CELADON JADE FIGURE OF The deity is depicted seated on a lion with its mouth opened
AVALOKITESHVARA WITH A GILT-BRONZE in a vigorous growl, depicting ‘Guanyin of the Lion Roar’
STAND (Simhanada Avalokiteshvara): the intense moment of
FIGURE: YUAN – MING DYNASTY transcendent enlightenment. Her serene features convey a
STAND: QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY sense of profound thought and wisdom which contrasts with
the ferocity of the lion. Together, the two figures represent an
worked seated in rajalilasana on a recumbent lion with its head image of controlled power and harmony.
and gaping jaws turned backward and its tail swept against
The present lot belongs to a group of jade bodhisattvas
its haunch, all atop a lotus base, the deity with the right hand
commissioned to furnish Buddhist shrines and probably used
resting on his raised right knee, further rendered cloaked in
for private worship. Such figures were also known to exist in
long flowing robes and adorned with beaded jewellery, the
other forms of media such as metal, stone, jadeite and wood,
serene expression framed by a pair of pendulous earlobes and
and were popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. It
an elaborate headdress, the gilt-bronze stand bordered with a
is likely that this figure, although created in the Ming dynasty,
scrollwork band and a frieze of upright lotus petals, the curved
continued to serve as an image for worship in the Qing
mandorla reticulated with a lotus bloom wreathed by scrolling
dynasty. The gilt-bronze stand, in its size and height, is in
foliage and a roundel decorated in gilt with a figure at the front
almost seamless concordance with the jade figure; suggesting
and in cloisonné enamel with a shou medallion on the reverse,
this could be a tailor-made addition by a Qing-dynasty
all within with a flaming border
worshipper. A closely related example, rendered almost
figure 14.9 cm, 5⅞ in.
identically to the present piece but lacking a separate stand,
stand 23 cm, 9 in.
is in the collection of Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in
Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese Jades],
PROVENANCE
vol. 5, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 313.
C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei.
HK$ 90,000-120,000
US$ 11,600-15,400
元至明 青白玉觀世音菩薩坐像
清十九世紀 鎏金銅須彌座連背光
來源：
慎德堂，台北

62 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比