Page 22 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art December 2014

Property from a Southwest Collector

8018
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha
Yongle six-character mark
Wearing a voluminous well-defined sanghati, with the antaravasaka undergarment rippling
at the chest, his hair in tight curls covering the conical ushnisha above, and long pierced
earlobes, with hands in bhumishparsha mudra and seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus
pedestal inscribed with a Yongle reign mark on its upper surface and sealed with a plate
beneath incised with a visvavajra and traces of red lacquer.
7 7/8in (20cm) high
$60,000 - 80,000

The statue is defined by an idiosyncratic sculptural manner within the Yongle stylistic
parameters, and superb color and condition. Yet a number of variances are found that fall
outside these parameters.

Firstly, the treatment of the outer lotus petal does not follow the convention of Yongle or other
known Ming period casting. The long narrow petals have a median ridge and the tip of curves
out slightly to a smooth point. The convention is rounded with an ornate scrolled element to
suggest the layers of fine curling petals at the tip. The wider inner petal and smaller spacing petals
are consistent as is the beading on the upper and lower edges. While subtle variation is found
throughout the body of known Yongle period bronzes, the stylistic convention is strictly adhered to.

Only one other examples of faceted pointed petals is currently known from the period that sold
Sotheby’s, New York, 26 March 1996, lot 6. However the form of the petal is more commonly
found in sculpture from the 17th-18th century. Two Tara figures in the Summer Palace at
Rehol have similar treatment of the petals, but only have a single line of beading along the
upper edge of the base, (see Buddhist Art from Rehol, pp. 85 and 91, nos. 22 and 25). A
Padmasambhava figure in the Museum Rietberg dated to the 17th century is cast with petals
with pointed curving tips, but they are plump and lack the median ridge.

Further variances are found the high forehead, slender torso, and thick rippling under garment at
the chest, and slightly smaller size. The execution of the Yongle reign mark on the base does not
provide any variance or indication that it was added later, further complicating the attribution.

While the overall hue of the gilding, areas of wear and treatment of the incised visvajra are
consistent with 15th century casting, there is a preponderance of anomalies that make it
difficult to be certain of the age.

For other Buddha figures recently offered and published include: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong,
October 7, 2010, lot 2142; Christie’s, New York, March 30, 2006, lot 180; Sotheby’s, Hong
Kong, April 4, 2012, lot 3225; Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, April 11, 2008, lot 3049; Christie’s,
London, 11 July 2006, lot 96; Christie’s, London, November 13, 2001, lot 116.

Also compare with two enthroned Buddha figures, one in the British Museum, W. Zwalf, ed,
Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, 1985, cat. 305, and the other from the Speelman Collection,
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 808. Also see Ulrich von Schroeder’s survey
of Tibetan monastery collections, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, pl.
358A; another, with the reign mark erased, is now in a private collection, Ulrich von Schroeder,
Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong 1981, 146D.

The Yongle emperor (1403-24) had a very close affinity to Tibetan Buddhism and revered
the high lamas of all the major sects. Tibetan Buddhism had become influential under the
Yuan dynasty, which utilised it to cement its sphere of influence over Tibet. Under the Yongle
emperor, imperial patronage was extended. In the first year of his reign, he invited the Fifth
Karmapa to Beijing to perform funeral rites for his parents. Throughout his reign, numerous
Buddhist images cast in Beijing were sent as gifts to high-ranking Tibetan lamas and
dignitaries. The remoteness of the Tibetan plateau, combined with the reverence in which
these Buddhist images were held and preserved in the numerous monasteries, provided the
perfect environment for their survival prior to the Communist invasion of Tibet.

Provenance
H. Medill Sarkisian, Denver
acquired from the above 7 July, 1980
According to notes by Mr. Sarkisian, the work was acquired by him in India in the early 1960’s

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