Page 100 - Art De' Asie Christie's Paris December 16, 2022

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STATUE DE ZHENWU EN BRONZE Zhenwu rose to the height of his popularity during the Ming dynasty. The third
CHINE, DÉBUT DE LA DYNASTIE MING (1368-1644) Ming emperor, Yongle, credited Zhenwu for helping him secure the throne
and ordered a massive temple building campaign at Wudang Shan, the place
Il est représenté assis, reposant sur un socle, sa main droite à hauteur de sa
poitrine et sa main gauche posée sur son genou. Il est vêtu d'une longue robe where Zhenwu is believed to have attained immortality and ascended to
monastique ceinturée à la taille formant d'harmonieux plis, bordée de nuées heaven. According to a folk legend, Yongle summoned a sculptor to the palace
incisées et à décor d'un dragon incisé sur le ventre. Une longue étoffe flottant to commission the first image of Zhenwu. When the sculptor arrived, Yongle
dans les airs encadre son visage serein. had just finished a bath. The emperor commanded the sculptor to create a true
Hauteur : 43 cm. (16w in.) likeness of Zhenwu. The sculptor replied that he had never seen the god, to
which Yongle replied ‘look at me’. The sculptor then literally created the image
€25,000-35,000 US$26,000-35,000 of Zhenwu in the likeness of Yongle, fresh from the bath, hair slicked back
£22,000-31,000 and barefoot. Another version is told in the hagiography of Zhenwu published
in 1602 by Yu Xiangdou. According to Yu, Zhenwu was getting ready for the
PROVENANCE: day combing his hair, when heavenly envoys arrived with the announcement
Formerly in the Bettini collection in the 1960s-1970s, France. of his appointment as a heavenly emperor. He accepted the appointment, and
after bowing in thanks, continued to comb his hair. To his astonishment, he
A BRONZE FIGURE OF ZHENWU found that he could not put his hair up. He was then informed by the heavenly
CHINA, EARLY MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
messenger that since he had already accepted his heavenly appointment, his
appearance was fixed, and he could no longer change his form. Other legends
明初 銅真↖坐像 tell of Zhenwu engaging in a fierce battle with demons and emerging victo-
ֶⓀ rious but having lost his footwear and his hair coming undone.
年代至 年代為⌅國藏家%(77,1,舊藏
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