Page 174 - Christies Alsdorf Collection PART 2 Sept 24 2020 NYC

崇聖御寶 - 詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮 ·阿爾斯多夫珍藏

975

A BRONZE AND GILT-BRONZE
SCULPTURE OF KANKITEN (GANAPATI)
JAPAN, EDO PERIOD, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
Cast as two standing elephant-headed figures in embrace
wearing robes decorated with clouds, atop a lotus base
4æ in. (12 cm.) high
$3,000-4,000

PROVENANCE:
Acquired from James Singer, London, 20 November
1990.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.
975 Kankiten is the Japanese name for the Indian deity
Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva. In Japan,
the diety represents conjugal bliss, hence is typically
shown as an embracing elephant-head couple. Statues
of the deity are rare in Japan and generally were used in
esoteric Buddhist rituals.

976

A CARVED AND PAINTED WOOD
STANDING FIGURE OF SHOTOKU TAISHI
JAPAN, EDO PERIOD, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
The figure standing in folded red robes, his hands together
in front of his chest
18Ω in. (47 cm.) high
$3,000-5,000

PROVENANCE:
Acquired from Barling of Mount Street, London, 4
October 1984.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.
See Zwalf, W. (ed.), Buddhism, Art and Faith, (British
Museum, London), no. 366 for an illustration of a
similar figure.
A similar example is at the Harvard Museums of Art,
Gift of Walter C. Sedgwick, in memory of Ellery
Sedwick Sr. and Ellery Sedgwick Jr., (2019.122). A
slightly larger example was sold at Christie's London 17
November 1998, lot 117.

976

172 PART II