Page 223 - 2020 Sept Important Chinese Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Important Chinese Art | Sotheby's

偉賀慕•馬易爾 (1878-1934) 收藏
William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930) 收藏，1917年得於北京，此後家族傳承

Catalogue Note
It is extremely rare to find such life-size standing figures in bronze, particularly Ming dynasty (1368-1644) bronze figures of
officials. Bronze statues are more commonly known in a religious context and are then of much smaller size and often in a seated
position. The present figures are also exceptional for their sculptural excellence and naturalistic portrayal. The sculptor artfully
conveyed their spirit of benevolence and serenity, especially noticeable in the modeling of the softened features and dignified
expressions. The skill of the sculptor is further patent in the way the clothing is depicted. There is a sense of movement in the
drapery of the long flowing robes and voluminous sleeves, while the rich texture of the cloth is fully palpable as a result of the
exquisite rendering of the embroidered motifs.

Such attire represented the typical dress code for civil officials of high rank. Following the sumptuary laws of 1391, which regulated
Ming dynasty dress, the classical Chinese clothing traditions of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties were revived.
Tang and Song official costumes themselves can be traced even further back, to the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The long robe
with wide sleeves, the sash embellished with beaded jewelry, the rectangular office plaque across the chest and the hand-carried
tabula or hu were all part of Han dynasty court apparel. One can, therefore, find a close similarity between traditional attires of
Chinese court officials over many centuries. Nowhere can this be observed as clearly as on the larger-than-life stone figures of civil
officials lining the spirit roads leading to their emperors’ mausoleums. Despite their stylistic differences, the figures look very
much alike, see Ann Paludan, The Chinese Spirit Road, New Haven and London, 1991, pl. 142 a Tang example, pls 167- 8; two Song
examples, pls 202, 205, 213, 228 and 230; several Ming examples. The last Ming example is probably the one illustrated in full
length in Zhongguo meishu quanji: Diaosu bian [Complete series on Chinese art: Sculpture section], 6: Yuan Ming Qing diaosu
[Yuan, Ming and Qing sculptures], Beijing, 1988, pl. 128, together with another example of a Ming civil servant, pls 124-5.

The hu or tabula, now missing in the hands of the present figures, symbolized high office and were often made out of ivory. The
specific function is explained in the Former Han dynasty Book of Rites (Liji) as an official tool for writing down the emperor’s
orders during audiences.

Only one closely related bronze figure, attributed to the Ming dynasty, appears to be recorded. It is of the same size and stands in
a similar frontal position, but holds both hands differently and lacks the lifelike facial expression of the present examples, see the
exhibition catalogue The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom. Jin tong fo zaoxiang tezhan tulu / Special Exhibition Catalog of the
Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, pl. 122. Compare also a standing
bronze figure of smaller size representing the Duke of Zhou (r. 1042 BC-1035 BC), similarly attributed to the Ming dynasty,
included in the exhibition Guan miao guan jiao. Shanxishengguan cang daojiao wenwu / Ancient Taoist Art from Shanxi Province,
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, cat. no. 32.

Similar headdresses to those worn by the present figures can be seen in paintings of famous Ming officials, see the exhibition
catalogue Confucius. A l’aube de l’humanisme Chinois, Musée Guimet, Paris 2003, cat. nos 55-58, together with a related bonnet,
found in the tomb of Zhu Tan (1370-89), son of the Hongwu emperor (r. 1368-1398), at Jiulongshan, and now in the Shandong
Provincial Museum at Jinan, cat. no. 83.

Vilhelm Meyer (1878-1934) was born in Denmark and settled in Shanghai in 1902. He was a founding partner of Andersen, Meyer &
Co., a Danish engineering firm that imported Western technology as a means to encourage industrial development in 1900s China.
The company’s success was assured in 1907 when it gained exclusive rights to represent General Electric in China. Meyer and his
wife Kristen Bramsen were great admirers of Chinese art and culture, amassing a varied and impressive collection.

明代大型銅製人物造像非常稀少，如真人大小一般的例子更實屬難得。銅像多以宗教人物為題材，大多尺寸較小，並多見坐像。此對文官
立像尺寸巨大，風格自然寫實，盡展工匠技術純熟。其人物面部表情刻畫柔和莊重，自然流露出仁慈內斂、寧靜平和的神韻。觀其人物服
飾，上著褐，下著裙，外罩帔，長裙大袖，衣擺層次分明，以系帶系結，頭戴玄冠，足穿靴，以細節體現工匠精湛技藝。

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