Page 24 - Christie's Buddhist Art May 29, 2019 Hong Kong

Gump’s, 250 Post Street, San Francisco, 1909. After Gump’s Since 1861, A San Francisco Legend, published 1991, p. 1
⯠㞖ྒྷ⢇᭄ᰑリ卿ᘂᙻ ჺ卿㖊ᙻǶ(VNQ’T 4JODF " 4BO 'SBODJTDP -FHFOEǷ卿 ჺ߅‸卿㮰

sculptures in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums: a Northern Qi- ࢈ ⒢Ọႏⵐ⻉㒥۬卻㱦⻦⽚ 卼ǯ 㫍὞
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䁖ង or Sui- 㪔ង dynasty Seated Buddha in white marble (1943.53.42), a ᚝ᙻ໬ջ⎏۔ӽדᘰណ⫭㙁۬ཐԠࣽཐ卿ֿ໬
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Sui Standing Guanyin in gray limestone (1943.53.43), and a Tang Kneeling 卻 ⯍ ჺ卼݉Հջ⎏ה৅㧿ᎵԮظ⊬Ի
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Bodhisattva in gray limestone (1943.53.36). Though few pre-Song ໬ង߿ ࣥ׹⎏ᆭ⥾Ꮅज㇦ݯ⾻⢵㲬㒝卿ᝬ⣌ݱ⎏׾ຽ
Buddhist wooden sculptures survive, those from the Song ໬ង (960–1279)
׹⯇౑⻉ᙱఉ⎏⡢‰㙪 Ռ⁞㞖ᙱ⻱ワ㱦卻㱦
and Yuan dynasties occasionally still retain their original pigments, or at
⻦⽚ 卼 ࣿٳᘹ⣠അߧՌ⯝ⰻ֬⁞ࢷ⁒㱦
least bear traces of them, such as the well-known examples in the Nelson- 卻㱦⻦⽚ " 卼ǯ ࣿ⯍㚅ջ卻 ⯍

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Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (34-10) and the Victoria and Albert
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Museum, London (A.7-1935). By the Liao dynasty 㚅 ង (907–1125), ჺ卼卿ԋஇ㫌ߴ⻱՞㰆὞Ⴁ㧷ංᓚ⊇ᶜ⯝㞖⟾⎏

Chinese sculptors apparently had begun to gild selected bronze sculptures by ᳋भ⁒卿׹ἃӳԧ㬪㠩۬㤒㞖卿 ᫉࣊Ꮢ㋵⎏ᶜ
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coating them with lacquer mixed with powdered gold — termed lacquer 㞖卿ݯ႙ᄑ㙭ᬘ㞖ᮄ࠲➯੷ሐᒵǯߪԻᚺߝ≾Ꮅ
gilt—a process far easier than amalgam gilding. Then, at least by early Ming Ԡ߿卿႙ࢎ㩶Ի⊇㯭ᙠ׹㿽⣧ណ⫭㫌۬卿Ԯ㧷ං

times, in addition to enhancing wooden sculptures with pigments, they ⊇ᶜ㞖׹ㅛ㱈❁ԋ⠢৅卿Ꮅᛓݎ㶊ᨃ⡚ᶜ卿 ݯ
had begun to embellish selected wood sculptures with gilt lacquer or to ӳݻ㤒㞖卿㘺♎ڔᯧӬ⏜ᯒ⊇⯍᳖ջ卻 ⯍
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coat them with reddish orange lacquer which they subsequently gilded, a
ჺ卼卿ទᐽ৅؝ᛓ᫉ԋ⎏ႍ࿨Ԡהǯ㘺Ӭ㯸
practice that continued into the Qing dynasty ᳖ង (1644–1912) as witnessed
ᶜ㞖㫌۬⎏Ն໶⡿❥჎⊇㯭ᙠ㿽᠎卿㋭ൈប৶Ǯ
by this splendid sculpture. The facial details of such gilt-lacquered sculptures
␓⎊Ǯ㿺⏫Ǯἓ⑯ࣿ㿳Ꮅ㬪㶂卻⻤ⰰӬ⯺׹⯇⒢
typically were tinted with pigments to add descriptive color, with red for the
㬪卿Ԯᝳ⊇㬪㞖⒢⟾ថ卿ֿᇌ⩢ᥑ⧎卼卿սᘘ⊺
lips, white for the whites of the eyes, black for the eyebrows and pupils of the
䂆㿽␩Ԡᘤǯ
eyes, and either black or blue for the hair (the blue from powdered azurite or,
in the rarest instances, from powdered lapis lazuli).
㙨ዏ⋁ჺ卿ទཉἃ՞؊ഠᛞ卿፽㜩ᝳ㫐ྉփ㇡⸥

When under worship, this sculpture would have sat on a double-lotus ᄠ卿 㕇ᇌ㇏ս㯔ݏᎵ⫫ݏ卿⸥≓ᆨ⎏ݏ∪ջヿ

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base and likely would have been backed by either a halo or a mandorla ▵■㕇㵲ᾃ⎉⎏ݏⱉ卿սᆳ㰆ݯ▵⪛஠ׅǯ ݦ
⫫ݏ , the lotus-petal-shaped aureole ݏ∪ suggesting light radiating from ։࢈՗ᘢ༈㘆ַ׾Ԯ㒛ទᐽ৅Ӭ᧙卿Ⴁᘶഔݯࣥ
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the deity’s body and thus signaling its divine status. Like the present 㜩ᄓᄠǯ
sculpture, neither of the closely related ones in the Palace Museum
retains its original base. ទཉ⻹Ⴧדᝪᙻ ჺ㙊リـᇟ卿⋁ᛞ⎉→ݯ⬍
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