Page 60 - Bonhams Chinese Paintings June 2015

7084 7085

7084 Property from Another Owner
A cast bronze stand for a Buddha assembly
Xuande mark, mid-Qing dynasty elements 7085
The five elaborate pedestals each crisply cast in three layers of lotus petals among vine tendrils A cast bronze figure of Guanyin
and held in an arching single line by curving braces attached to a central vertical shaft all Ming dynasty
covered in additional applied lithe tendril motifs and extending upwards from a tapered ring of The deity attired in flowing robes, a pendant
stylized Mount Meru patterns issuing from a sturdy base cast as a tasseled bombé vase atop a jeweled pectoral, an ornate crown centered
tiered base bearing the four-character mark to the underside. with a Buddha figure and a diaphanous veil
12in (30.5cm) high covering the coiffure, seated in dhyanasana
$4,000 - 6,000 with the hands positioned in the dhyanamudra
on a separately cast four-tiered lotus base
In Gugong Bowuyuan Zang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji 60: Zang chuan fo jiao zao xiang (The Complete support, both surfaces showing extensive
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 60: Buddhist Statues of Tibet), 2008, there are traces of layered gilt lacquer and polychrome.
two similar edifices, both supporting a specific Buddhist assembly. Called ‘the Shakyamuni who 10 1/2in (26.5cm) height of figure
Delivers from the King of the Hungry Ghosts (Ch: Jiudu Yankou Shijiamouni Fo Zuoxiang)’, these 13 5/8in (35cm) height including base
pieces were used in the daily practice of those training in the esoteric tradition, as well as for funerals $5,000 - 7,000
or other important rituals that necessitated the appeasement of pretas or Hungry Ghosts.
A similar cast bronze figure of Guanyin was
Both the Qianlong era example (no. 232) and its 10th century Kashmiri prototype (no. 22) sold in Bonhams, Knightsbridge, sale 20179,
featured a similar set of five lotus thrones blooming from a central shaft. In these pieces, the 14 May, 2012, lot 387.
central position was occupied by Shakyamuni, surrounded on either side by two additional
unidentified Buddhas with the Maitreya and Avalokiteshvara bodhisattvas at either far end.
Not only are these five deities missing from the current lot, but numerous other iconographic
elements appear to be missing or changed, indicating likely significant alteration during the
piece’s transformation into its current incarnation as an elegant five-light candelabra.

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