Page 39 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

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AN eXcePTIONAl lARge lIMesTONe FIguRe
OF A bOdhIsATTVA, TANg dyNAsTy a well-formed, youthful, swaying body, the weight slightly shifted to one
leg, the fleshy yet compact torso exposed and the legs clearly visible
China, 618-907. Beautifully carved in the round, standing in a nuanced under a thin, clinging garment, is a prime example of such High Tang
contrapposto with a vase held in the proper left hand, the body lavishly Buddhist imagery in stone. While the figure is depicted as genderless and
adorned with beaded necklaces and jeweled pendants. not specifically identified as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the opulent
coiffure suggests a female deity and the benevolent face clearly evokes
Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the the ‘Bodhisattva of Compassion’, better known as the Goddess of Mercy,
above. Thence by descent within the same family. Arthur Huc was the Guanyin.
chief editor of La Dépêche du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper
in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early Associated modern metal base. (2)
patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At
the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen Literature comparison: Although this sculpture stands firmly in the stylistic
collector of Asian art, a passion that he context of its period, only few closely related works appear to have survived.
inherited from his legendary ancestor Even if similarities with contemporary cave sculptures found in situ are
Évariste régis Huc, also known as obvious, since their style dominated the arts and crafts of the period,
the Abbé Huc (1813–1860), a French variations of facial expression, jewelry and dress are to be expected on free-
Catholic priest and traveler who became standing sculptures produced by locally working craftsmen. Bodhisattva
famous for his accounts of Qing-era figures depicted in a comparable manner can be seen, for example, at the
China, Mongolia and especially the Tianlongshan Caves near Taiyuan in Shanxi, one of the smaller ensembles
then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book of rock carvings in north China, with only twenty-one caves. Carving here
“remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, continued from the end of the Northern Wei right through to the Tang. The
Tibet, and China”. Arthur Huc (1854-1932) faces carved in the somewhat coarse stone are characterized by particularly
condition: Extensive weathering, wear, soft features, and some caves are renowned for their flamboyant Tang
breaks, losses and erosions as visible on the images at www.zacke.at. carvings in the fully matured Chinese carving style of the High Tang
remnants of an old varnish coating. Two structural cracks, one at the period. Compare three bodhisattva figures from Tianlongshan, one in situ,
neck and one just above the feet, both with old fillings. Considering illustrated in Tianlongshan shiku [Tianlongshan rock caves], Beijing, 2003,
the age of this statue, the condition must still be regarded as highly pl. 124, and another in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (37.329) (fig. 1),
satisfying. and the third, lacking its head, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
French export license: Certificat d’exportation pour un bien culturel (René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, ed., Chinese, Korean and Japanese
Nr. 185432 dated 3.07.2017 has been granted and is accompanying Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1974, pl. 108).
this lot. The Tianlongshan bodhisattvas are, however, characterized by a more
scientific Report: A detailed microanalysis report, voluptuous roundness of the faces as well as the bodies.
issued by Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P. SArL, Sciences des
Matériaux Anciens et du Patrimoine - Etude des objets In its general pose and physique, the present sculpture can also be
d’art, Nr. 20-050 OA (dated 02/24/20) is accompanying compared to two bodhisattva figures of similar date attributed to the
this object. The report states that the characteristics of Longmen Caves, both formerly in the Junkunc Collection, sold at Christie’s
the present lot are “in accordance with the assumed New york, 21st September 1995, lots 301 and 302, the former illustrated in
origin and age of the object.” (please see scans of the Osvald Sirén, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century,
report online at www.zacke.at) London, 1925, pl. 464. These Longmen figures, however, display a much
more solid physique. The prevalent carving style of the period reflected
Weight: 98 kg (including the base) by this bodhisattva figure can equally be seen on steles, where two such
Dimensions: 100 cm (without the base) figures are flanking a central Buddha; see, for example, Matsubara Saburo,
Chugoku Bukkyo chokoku shiron [Historical survey of Chinese Buddhist
This figure of a bodhisattva is remarkable for its graceful pose, naturalistic, sculpture], Tokyo, 1995, vol. 3, particularly 656b, 658b, 660b, 663a and 670
yet genderless physique, elegant flowing skirt and scarves, and voluminous for examples from the High Tang and slightly earlier.
flower-decorated hair style. It is a classic example of China’s Buddhist stone
carving from the period that saw perhaps the greatest flowering of China’s AucTION ResulT
plastic arts, the High Tang period under Emperor Xuanzong (r. 713-755). cOMPARIsON
An elaborate multi-strand necklace is hanging down from the shoulders Comparison: Compare with a
along either side of the sensual, rounded belly and stops just above the closely related white marble
ankles, centered by a lotus pendant. The dhoti is ribbon-tied above the statue at Sotheby’s New york in
waist and cascades in folds along the contours of the legs. The head bears Junkunc: Arts of Ancient China, 19
a five-pointed diadem just below a minuscule statue of Amithaba. The figure March 2019, lot 120, sold for
stands on a single lotus base, raised from a square plinth flanked by two USD $740,000.
guardian lions.
In the early Tang period we begin to see a more naturalistic approach to 大型石灰石雕菩薩立像，唐代
the depiction of Buddhist deities, for example in late 7th century caves at 中國，618-907。菩薩雕刻精美，立在蓮花座上，左手握住花瓶，身體上裝飾有瓔珞
Longmen, constructed under Empress Wu (624-705), where bodhisattvas 首飾。
are already rendered as more human figures, standing with a slight swerve 來源：此像源自法國阿瑟∙胡克（1854-1932）收藏。馬爾塞∙胡克繼承，家族保存。
to the body and performing naturalistic gestures (Zhongguo meishu 阿瑟∙胡克先生曾是圖盧斯市《快訊》極受歡迎的時政記者，直至1932年去世，他還
quanji: Diaosu bian [Complete series on Chinese art: Sculpture section], 是一個著名的藝術評論家。同時，他也開始收藏亞洲藝術。其收藏可追溯到額法李斯
vol. 11, Shanghai, 1988, pl. 183 and ryumon Sekkutsu / Longmen Caves, 特∙雷吉斯∙胡克，又名阿貝∙胡克（1813-1860，中文名古伯察Évariste Regis Huc），
exhibition catalogue, The Miho Museum, n. p., 2001, p. 62). The full 一個法國傳教士，他在蒙古、西藏及中國的游記《鞑靼西藏旅行记》使他成名。
品相：如www.zacke.at上的細圖所示，菩薩像有大面積風化、磨損、斷裂、缺失和
transformation towards a ravishingly beautiful, sensuous naturalism in 侵蝕。 舊清漆塗層的殘留物。 兩個結構性裂縫，一個在脖子上，一個恰好在腳上，
Buddhist imagery, where the religious message is delivered through a very 均帶有舊時的填充物。考慮到這尊雕像的年代，目前的狀況是非常令人滿意的。
accessible form of human beauty did, however, only materialized in the 法國出口許可：隨附《出口文化財產》2017年7月3日第185432 號文件
High Tang period. This era marks the fully matured style of Buddhist stone 科學報告：隨附研究所科學測試報告，掃描件請查詢www.zacke.at
sculpture, a style similarly manifested also in gilt bronze, clay and wood, 重量：含底座98公斤
and it unquestionably marks one of the finest periods of China’s sculptural 尺寸：不含底座100厘米
tradition, which brought forth some of the country’s most impressive
figurative masterpieces. 拍賣結果比較：意見相近的大理石菩薩立像2019年3月19日紐約蘇富比《瓊肯：中國
高古藝術》拍號120，成交價USD $740.000。
The Tang dynasty saw an unequalled flowering of the Buddhist doctrine and
imagery, which exerted a major influence on all strata of Chinese society estimate euR 15.000,-
right up to the court. The present figure with its deliberate indication of Starting price EUr 7.500,-

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