Page 272 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND
JOHN CURTIS
1775
A SMALL BRONZE FIGURE OF DHANADA,
GUARDIAN OF THE NORTH
EARLY MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY
The bearded guardian is depicted as a powerful
warrior standing on a low rock base, with the left
hand raised to hold a small stupa and the right
hand lowered at the side to hold a halberd (now
missing). The fgure wears elaborate layered armor
with fnely detailed foral scroll around the hem
and at the waist and with a mask on the breast
plate, and a crown that obscures his double-loop
topknot. His body is framed by the billowing scarf
that trails down the sides and to the base.
8√ in. (22.5 cm.) high
$10,000-15,000

PROVENANCE
J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 1989.
This small bronze fgure can be identifed as the
guardian king Dhanada, based on the stupa held
aloft in the left hand, and the position of the right
arm, held pendent to hold a halberd. The fgure
is related to larger bronze fgures, such as the
one illustrated by Giter & Li Yin in The Beauty of
Ancient Chinese Sculptures, Taiwan, December
1995, p.82, no. 31, where the larger fgure
(58.5 cm.) is identifed as Dhanada (Northern
Lokapala), guardian of the North. See, also, the
bronze fgure of Dhanada of larger size (36.8 cm.),
sold at Christie’s New York, 20 September 2005,
lot 146.
明十五世紀 銅多聞天王立像