Page 134 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

PROPERTY FROM A TEXAS COLLECTION

1410

A CAST-IRON BUST OF BODHIDHARMA
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

The Chan patriarch is depicted holding a
single sandal and dressed in heavy robes that
are pulled over the head. The face is deeply
expressive, with furrowed brows, and a curly
beard and eyebrows.

15¿ in. (38.4 cm.) high, wood stand

$7,000-9,000

LITERATURE

H. F. E. Visser, Asiatic Art in private collections
of Holland and Belgium, Amsterdam, 1947, p.
263, no. 175, pl. 91.

The semi-historical monk, Bodhidharma, known
in China as Damo and in Japan as Daruma,
was said to have traveled to China from India
sometime in the AD 5th or 6th century. He was
the frst patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in
China, and while there is some evidence for
his historical existence, much of what is known
of his life is based on later sources. According
to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall of AD
952, Bodhidharma, after being refused entry
to the Shaolin Monastery, meditated in a cave,
staring at the wall in silence for nine years. When
a monk from Shaolin sought to study under
Bodhidharma, he initially refused; the monk,
1410 Dazu Huike, however, cut of his own left arm
and presented it to Damo as a sign of sincerity.
According to the same text, Bodhidharma was
buried upon his death at the age of 150. Three
years later, an oficial from the one of the Wei
kingdoms encountered the old patriarch walking
back to India with one sandal in his hand; when
they opened his tomb, they found it empty save
for the other sandal. As such, many depictions of
Bodhidharma show him holding a single sandal,
as in the present example.
明 鑄鐵達摩半身像

ANOTHER PROPERTY

1411

A GILT-LACQUER WOOD FIGURE OF A
BODHISATTVA
YUAN- EARLY MING DYNASTY, 14TH-15TH
CENTURY

The fgure sits in dhyanasana, and is dressed
in heavy, fowing robes. The face is serene
and slightly tilted, with the hair arranged in a
chignon at the top of the head.

13º in. (33.7 cm.) high

$5,000-7,000

1411 元/明初 木漆金菩薩坐像