Page 111 - Chinese Works of Art and Buddhist sculpture, June 18, 2018 Galerie Zacke

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A LARGE AND IMPORTANT MING DYNASTY 㖶ẋ⣏✳㛐偶檡㺮慹㯜㚰奨枛⁷ġ
POLYCHROME-LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF 㛐偶檡㺮慹
GUANYIN ᷕ⚳炻㖶ẋ炻ᶩ⌗⸜炷ㅱ䇚1567ㆾ1627⸜炸
Wood and lacquer
China, Ming Dynasty, dated to the Dingmao year, 奨枛冒⛐⛸㕤叱⫸央味枰⻴⹏ᶲ炻ⶎ兪ὅ月⸦⹏炻⎛ㇳ冒䃞
corresponding to 1567 or 1627 ✪㓦㕤⎛充ᶲ炻幓䛨暁柀忂偑⣑堋ˤ傠⇵䑼䎆夷㔜䱦䳘炻厗
渿㚱⸷ˤ柕㡛檀檣炻䓐ᶨᾳ搚⳴叿旧⻴旨ἃ⼊尉䘬叱ⅈ⚢
The bodhisattva seated on leaf covered rockwork in ⭂ˤᶳ䛨伭墁炻伭墁㕤儘攻ẍ䴚䴃丷䲣炻晽⇣⮓⮎炻䳘兑炻⣑
Rajalilasana, the posture of ‘royal ease’, supported on 堋ᷳᶲ梦㚱䎈捰炻丷丆⛐奨枛⚃偊ˣ儘攻ẍ⍲墁㒢ᷳᶲˤ
a raised knee in Vitarka mudra. The deity wearing a
voluminous robe falling in soft pleats gathered at the 忁ỵ奨枛Ṣ䈑䘬晽⇣⭞䱦ⶏ⛘晽⇣叿䱦䶣䘬䎈⮞␴堋㚵䲳
base, revealing the bare chest adorned with a tiered, 䎮枮ㅱ≽ἄ嬲⊾炻堋䲳⮓⮎冒䃞炻ⶏ⥁⛘䓐㹓㝼䘬⽖䪹㋽㋱
beaded necklace. The hair drawn up in a high chignon ⇘Ḯ䤆䘬ヰず炻侴⤡⋲攱䘬䛤䜃⇯⁛忼Ḯᶨ䧖㶙㰱䘬㰱⿅䉨
and secured by a foliate crown enclosing an image ンˤ慹⼑冯墅梦㗗忁ᾳ晽⟹⍇⃰⤊厗␴愺䚖䘬夾奢㓰㝄䘬
of Amitabha Buddha. The hems of the garment, the 嫱㒂炻┬䓟ᾉ⤛䚠ᾉ⛐忯暋㛇攻側婎奨枛⎵⫿䘬Ṣ悥㚫塓
crown, the waist belt, all show intricate high relief floral ⤡㓹↢炻⤡㗗ἃ㔁ᷕ㚨⍿ⲯ㊄䘬䤆炻⚈㬌䴻ⷠ䩳橼㍷丒ˤ
ornaments. A subtle gold décor coats the entire surface
of her gown. 側⼴㚱ᶩ⌗⸜炷1567ㆾ1627⸜炸⫿㧋炻⮩⌘␴㓞啷㳆⎋ˤ

Intricately carved with elaborate jewelry and heavy 晐⼊侴晽
falling robes, the sculptor of this figure of Guanyin has ⯢⮠烉檀 62 cm
skillfully captured the warmth of the deity in the gentle ⑩䚠列⤥炻㚱㬟⎚⸜ẋ怢䔁䘬䕽嶉炻㚱ᶨṃ∫䕽炻ᷣ天⛐ⱑ
smile, while her half-closed eyes convey a state of deep 䞛悐↮㚱㛸㕁仢⣙␴ᾖ⽑
contemplation. The gilding and ornamental decoration ⺿嗕↯㕗䥹·䐒⇑Ṇ·⟼慴⬱⯤·⽟·楔℞㫸 Francesco Maria炻
are evidence of the original sumptuousness and striking Marchese Taliani de Marchio (1887 - 1968)炻 シ⣏⇑䘯
visual effect this sculpture would have made on temple ⭖⣏⣏⮯幵⍲Ṿ䘬⥣⫸䐒㟤渿⟼⤏⛘⇑㈀㕗⌉䲵⣏℔
visitors, who would have encountered it in an elaborate, Maragaretha d‘Austria Toscana (1894 – 1986)
almost stage-like setting. As it was believed that anyone ⺿嗕↯㕗䥹·䐒⇑Ṇ·⟼慴⬱⯤·⽟·楔℞㫸 㗗ᶨỵ‹↢䘬シ⣏
who recited Guanyin’s name during times of distress ⇑⢾Ṍ⭀␴ᶨỵ⾈⮎䘬喅埻㓞啷⭞ˤ 1938⸜塓ἄ䁢シ⣏⇑
would be rescued by her, she is the most worshipped ⛐哋ṳ䞛⚳㮹㓧⹄⋿Ṕ㗪㛇䘬⣏ἧ復⇘ᷕ⚳炻Ṿㆸ䁢䫔Ḵ
deity in Buddhism and has therefore been frequently 㫉㈿㖍㇘䇕䘬䚖㑲侭炻㖍㛔幵昲⛐忁㫉㇘䇕ᷕỼ柀⋿Ṕ᷎多
depicted in three-dimensional form. 㑲ᶲ㴟ˤ䔞⡐䳊慴⯤㈧娵㰒䱦堃䘬㖍㛔
⃉㓧⹄㗪炻Taliani
⎹Ṿ㍸ṌḮṾ䘬⌘ᾉˤ 1943⸜9㚰8㖍炻Ṿ㉺䳽䘤娻㓰⾈シ
The back bears an inscription with the dating to the ⣏⇑䣦㚫ℙ␴⚳炷啑㳃ℙ␴⚳炸炻Ṿ␴Ṿ䘬⥣⫸塓㖍㛔Ṣ忖
Dingmao year (either 1567 or 1627) and with a sealed ㋽᷎⛐ᶲ㴟旬役䘬ᶨᾳ普ᷕ䆇㊀䔁炻ṾᾹ⛐恋慴⏮Ḯℑ⸜炻
and consecrated cavity. 䚜⇘㇘䇕䳸㜇ˤḴ㇘䳸㜇⼴炻旧䇦大⽟⽟≈㕗ἑ䇦㕘㓧⹄ℵ
㫉䡢娵Ṿ䁢楸厗⣏ἧ䚜⇘1946⸜ˤ
Shape: Figural shape
Dimensions: 62 cm (height) ⟼慴⬱⯤㓞啷䘬ᶨ䲣↿⎌℠ᷕ⚳⭞℟㚦㕤1944⸜塓叿⎵⬠
Condition: Good condition consistent with the age of the 侭⎌㕗⟼⣓·❫⃳⌂⢓Dr. Gustav Ecke㓞抬Ḷ℞斄㕤ᷕ⚳⭞
sculpture, some age cracks, material loss mainly at the ⹕⭞℟䘬攳∝⿏叿ἄᷕˤ
rockwork, few small reattachments 㔯䌣⍫侫烉喯⭴㭼˪慵天ᷕ⚳喅埻˫炻2016⸜9㚰13-14㖍炻䲸
Provenance: Francesco Maria, Marchese Taliani de 䲬炻169嘇㉵⑩ (ᶨẞ㚜⣏ṃ䘬⋩ᶫ军⋩ℓᶾ䲨挷慹㺮㛐晽
Marchio (1887 - 1968), Grand Officer of the Italian Crown 奨枛)ㆾἛ⢓⼿˪ᷕ⚳䱦伶昞䒟冯ⶍ喅⑩˫炻2010⸜11㚰9㖍炻
and his wife Archduchess Maragaretha d’Austria Toscana ΐ㔎炻69嘇㉵⑩ (⋩⚃军⋩Ḽᶾ䲨䘬㛐偶檡㺮奨枛)
(1894 – 1986)

Marchese Taliani was a distinguished Italian diplomat Estimate EUR 12.000,-
and a devoted art collector. Sent to China in 1938 as Starting price EUR 6.000,-
Ambassador to the Nationalist Government of Chiang
Kai-shek in Nanjing, he became an eye-witness of the
Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the Japanese
forces captured the capital and attacked Shanghai. When
Mussolini recognized Wang Jingwei’s Japanese puppet
government, Taliani presented his credentials to him. On
8 September 1943, having refused to swear allegiance
to the Italian Social Republic (Republic of Salò), he and
his wife were arrested and interned by the Japanese in a
concentration camp near Shanghai, where they remained
for two years until the end of the war. After the end of
hostilities, the new government of Alcide De Gasperi
reconfirmed him as Ambassador to China until 1946.

A number of masterpieces of classical Chinese furniture in
the Taliani collection have been published by the eminent
scholar Dr. Gustav Ecke in his seminal book about Chinese
Domestic Furniture, Beijing, 1944.

Literature comparison: Sotheby’s, IMPORTANT CHINESE
ART, 13 SEPTEMBER 2016 - 14 SEPTEMBER 2016, NEW
YORK, lot 169 (for a larger gilt-lacquered wood figure of
th
Guanyin, dating to the 17 / 18 century) or Christie’s,
th
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 9 November
2010, London, lot 69 (for a polychrome lacquered wood
th
figure of Guanyin, larger in size and dating to the 14 /
15 century.
th

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