Page 65 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

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PROPERTY FROM THE BERGER COLLECTION
EDUCATIONAL TRUST, SOLD TO BENEFIT
FUTURE PHILANTHROPY

AN EXTREMELY LARGE GILT-
LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF
WEITUO
MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

the bodhisattva dressed as a warrior, standing
with one foot thrust forward, the arms and
hands at waist-level posed to hold a now missing
weapon, wearing chainmail armor over owing
robes, the midri with a erce ‘monster’-mask
chestguard, the mail skirt terminating in mask-
weights, the face with a gentle expression, red
lacquer under the gilding and additional red and
black lacquer accenting the face and clothing,
modern stand (2)
Height 65 in., 165.1 cm

PROVENANCE

Sotheby’s New York, 19th March 1997, lot 169.
Collection of Bernadette and William M. B.
Berger, Denver, Colorado, acquired in 1997.

Weituo appears in Buddhist temples as the
‘Entry Guardian.’ He leads the thirty-two
heavenly generals who come under the Four
Heavenly Kings and has earned such titles as the
‘Protector of the Buddhist Faith,’ the ‘Protector
of Monasteries,’ and the ‘Protector of Dharma
Books.’ In all temples where his image is found,
he is always placed with his back to the statue
of Maitreya Buddha so that he faces the Main
or Grand Hall where the principal deities of the
temple are enshrined.

$ 30,000-50,000

1997 3 19 169

Bernadette William M B Berger

1997

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 63