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VARIOUS PROPERTIES

922

A LACQUERED AND GILT-BRONZE
FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN KING
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

The fgure stands on a rocky base with his left
hand raised holding a stupa and his right with two
fngers extended pointing to the earth. He is clad
in heavy armor with a monster’s mask on the torso,
and his face is surmounted by a tiara centered by a
diminutive fgure of Amitabha Buddha.

20º in. (51.4 cm.) high

$12,000-18,000

PROVENANCE

Private European Collection, acquired in the
1970s-80s.

This imposing fgure is related not just to other
bronze guardian fgures, such as the very similar,
but larger (58.5 cm. high), bronze fgure illustrated
by Giter & Li Yin, The Beauty of Ancient Chinese
Sculptures, December 1995, p. 82, no. 31, where
the fgure is identifed as Dhanada (Northern
Lokapala), guardian of the North, but also to
large painted stucco fgures found in temples. A
stylistically similar fgure of massive proportions
(2 m. high), identifed as the Guardian of the
North, in the Baimasi (White Horse Temple),
Luoyang, is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji;
diaosu bian; Yuan Ming Qing diaosu (6), Beijing
1988, pl. 9. Dated late Yuan/early Ming, the
guardian is very similarly attired and stands in a
very similar posture holding a stupa in the raised
left hand, and a halberd in the right. See, also,
the bronze fgure dressed in elaborate armor and
shown holding a stupa sold at Christie’s
New York, 20 September 2005, lot 146.

明 銅鎏金加漆天王立像

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