Page 32 - Christies May 2016

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE GERMAN COLLECTOR

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A VERY RARE SET OF FOUR GILT-BRONZE FIGURES OF It is very rare to fnd a full set of the Four Buddhist Guardians, also
BUDDHIST GUARDIANS referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings, rendered in such fne quality gilt-
17TH-18TH CENTURY bronze and dating to the early Qing period. These guardians, depicted as
powerful warriors, form part of the Buddhist Pantheon. They were typically
Each fgure is intricately cast wearing elaborate armour, headdress and commissioned for important places of worship, and were traditionally
placed on the four sides of stupas, representing the four cardinal points of
celestial scarf, standing on a kidney-shaped base. Their hands are raised to the world. The guardians can be identifed as Dhrtarastra, the Guardian of
the East, holding a lute; Virudhaka, the Guardian of the South, holding a
hold various attributes, and their faces have stern expressions. There are some sword; Virupaksa, the Guardian of the West, holding a snake and a jewel; and
Vaisravana, the Guardian of the North, holding a stupa and a halberd.
traces of blue and red pigments to their backs.

6√ in. (17.5 cm.) high (4)

£120,000-180,000 $170,000-250,000
€160,000-230,000

PROVENANCE: The small size of the current fgures is also highly unusual. Examples of
slightly larger gilt-bronze guardian fgures dated to the 17th/18th century are
From a private German collection, acquired prior to 1982. illustrated by the Chang Foundation in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei,
1993, nos 72-76, pp. 158-166. For guardian fgures of even larger size and
EXHIBITED: dating to the Ming period, see two examples modelled in powerful forms
from the Fuller Memorial collection in the Seattle Art Museum, illustrated
Exhibited at the Museum for Asian Art in Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967, pls. 93 and
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, from 2008 - June 2013. 94. Another bronze example is illustrated by Giter & Li Yin, The Beauty of
Ancient Chinese Sculptures, December 1995, p. 82, no. 31, where the fgure is
identifed as the Guardian of the North.

明末清初 鎏金銅四大護法立像一組四件

來源:德國私人珍藏，購自1982年前
展覽:2008年至2013年間於柏林亞洲藝術博物館陳列

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