Page 55 - Bonhams Sept 2016 CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS

8068 This architectural fitting provides a fascinating and rare glimpse into
A LARGE AND UNUSUAL FAHUA-GLAZED BUDDHIST the world of Ming ceramic and architectural production through
ARCHITECTURAL FITTING MADE BY THE QIAO FAMILY KILNS the plethora of inscriptions on the reverse. The fitting was originally
Tianqi period, Ming dynasty made by the Qiao family kilns at Yangcheng city, Shanxi, and was
The tile of rectangular shape, glazed in deep purple, turquoise blue commissioned for and installed at the Temple of Three Faiths at Lizhai
and cream, decorated with a scene of a donor prostrated before the village, Zezhou County, Shanxi province. The temple still stands and
Buddha, likely Bhaisajyaguru, praying for merit with a spirit shown is noted for opulent wood and tile ornamentation, with much of the
floating above in heaven, all below a central cartouche centering on tile work having been furnished by the Qiao family. The temple was
another Buddhist deity, wreathed in elaborate cloud scroll, enthroned renovated and embellished multiple times, including in the Kangxi,
in an opulent, heavenly palace, carved with an inscription reading Qianlong and Daoguang periods, and it is likely that this fitting was
Di Ba Da Yuan (The Eighth Great Vow), the reverse with extensive displaced during one of these expansion campaigns. The Qiao family,
inscriptions describing production of the tile by the Qiao family of headed by Qiao Yongfeng, who is named in the fitting’s inscriptions,
Yangcheng, Shanxi, an inscription carved on the back dated Tianqi was a nationally prominent manufacturer of tile decoration, winning the
yuannian eryue shiwu ri (first year of the Tianqi period, second month, commissions to supply both the Beijing imperial palace and the Ming
15th day) [1621], now mounted on a metal display stand. imperial tombs with decorative tiles. The Palace Museum Beijing holds
19in (48cm) high many architectural fittings produced and signed by the Qiao family.
Shanxi province contains many historical sites rich with tiles from the
US$5,000 - 7,000 Qiao family kilns, one of the most notable being the famous pagoda
at Shoushengsi, Jincheng city, completed in 1608, which features
明天啟 琺華藍彩佛像建築構件 喬家窯造 numerous tiles fittings similar to the current piece (Zhang Qicai,
“Qiao Yongfeng, Yangcheng Qiaoshi Liuli de Tuchu Daibiao”, Jinchen
澤州李寨村 Xinwenwang, 10, September 2015, Web, 27 July 2016).
教堂設心禪僧海峰門徒壽山徒孫妙福 The inscription on the front of the tile, Di Ba Da Yuan (“The Eighth
陽城☐匠人喬永豐 Great Vow”), likely refers to the eighth vow of the Medicine Buddha,
-男喬常正 Bhaisajyaguru, in which the Buddha vows to help all women, who
-喬常遠 wish to be reincarnated as men, achieve their goal.
-孫喬賜初 A tile of smaller size and very similar workmanship is in the collection
天啟元年二月十五日 of the British Museum, museum number 1985,0718.1, sharing the
glaze colors, degree and style of relief and depiction of figures.

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