Page 71 - Christie's, materpieces of Buddhist Art December 2, 2015 HK

and technical analysis, we hazarded that this change took
place in the Ming dynasty. When the V&A statue underwent
its second historical restoration, it also followed this decorative
scheme. I subsequently worked with sculptor conservator John
Larson on Ming sculptures made in ivory, boxwood, porcelain
and soapstone that had their surfaces lacquered and gilt to
resemble gilt bronze. It appeared to us that there was a strong
and prevailing fashion during the Ming dynasty for images to
resemble gilt bronze, even when the underlying material (for
example ivory) was itself of intrinsic value.

This has relevance for the figure under discussion here, for it also
has traces of red pigmentation and gilding. However, it has been
cleaned at some point in the past, and its surface made uniform
and sealed, to give the figure a clean surface free from flaking
and delaminating pigmentation. In many areas the surface has
entirely disappeared to show the grain of the wood, though in a
few places, such as deep within the folds of drapery and on the
soles of the feet, traces of surface decoration can be seen.

In addition to their state of preservation, each wooden carving fig. A
of the bodhisattva Guanyin made in the Northern Song The Bodhisattva Guanyin (wood, gesso, mineral pigments & gold), Chinese School,
dynasty is subtly different from one to another, in terms of style, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)
detailing and feel. This suggests the hands of many master © Minneapolis Institute of Arts, USA/Bridgeman Images
craftspeople, each fully engaged with the particular image (圖A) 北宋 彩繪木雕觀音像 明尼阿波利斯藝術館藏品
they were working on. It also emphasises the large number
of temples in north China that must have existed, many now collecting of Chinese wooden Buddhist sculptures in Europe.
swept away (though a good number remain). It is quite difficult, The Christie’s statue was illustrated on page 301 of his major
therefore, to make exact correlation between images, though publication, the 1930 catalogue Preuves des Antiquités de
general styles and features may be observed. In the case of this Chine, published in Beijing. Paul Houo-ming-tze obtained
bodhisattva, a comparison could be made with a seated figure many of the Song dynasty wooden sculptures he sold from
in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, dated by them to the late Shanxi province. In 1932 his major shop holdings were sold at
11th-early 12th century (fig. A). The surface of the Minneapolis auction, on his instruction, by J.C. Morgenthau & Co. in New
figure is slightly less three-dimensional and detailed in its York. Proceeds of the sale enabled him to donate more than a
representation of robes, jewellery and hair than the image thousand antiques and rare books to the Chinese State.
being offered for sale here, and also has a more highly coloured
surface with gilding, though this appearance may result To sum up, the sculptor of the Christie’s Guanyin figure has
from a different stage of re-decoration. The deity is seated in given free rein to his genius in depicting a religious image that
the same posture and has a comparable hairstyle with two is both reverent and sumptuous. Its finely observed physical
upswept loops of hair, and no crown. The V&A Guanyin has a features and luxurious apparel are carved in a masterly way,
similar hairstyle, but like many Guanyin images, the chignon in a manner that could perhaps be compared with European
is concealed by an elaborate five-pointed crown containing sculptors who also contrived to sculpt masterpieces for
an image of the Buddha Amitabha. The Christie’s image may religious patrons. In both East and West it could be argued that
originally have had a crown attached to a thick band round the constraints were imposed on the sculptors by commissions
top of the head. originating from religious institutions, that possessed power,
money and resources. In both cases, however, those very
The Guanyin under discussion here was in the collection of the constraints, perhaps coupled with the religious faith of the
scholar/dealer Paul Houo-ming-tze (Huo Mingzhi, 1879 - ?), sculptors themselves, channelled creative and visionary power
whose family home was Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. During to produce magnificent works of art.
the Republican period he managed a famous and successful
antique shop in Beijing, called “Studio for obtaining antiques”.
There he specialised in selling books, bronzes, ceramics and
sculpture, and because of his good connections with all levels
of the antiquarian world, including nobility, was able to obtain
fine objects. Furthermore, he played a significant role in the

Rose Kerr
Museum Expert Advisor, Hong Kong
Former Keeper of the Far Eastern Department,
Victoria & Albert Museum

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