Page 51 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

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A JIN – MINg dyNAsTy WOOd FIguRe
OF A dAOIsT IMMORTAl

China, 12th-16th century. The sage seated as a dignitary wearing a cap to the Northern Song period, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Diaosu
of office and a finely painted beard. This statue is particularly attractive bian [The complete series on Chinese art. Sculpture], vol. 5, Beijing, 1988,
for the soft and expressive modeling of the figure’s facial features, pl. 84, together with a much larger polychrome painted example, dressed
which exudes a sense of serenity and confidence, with downcast eyes in a similar robe, pl. 83. Another wood figure of a seated female Daoist
and a gentle smile. immortal, but of larger size (152 cm. high) and dated to the Song dynasty,
from the Liang-sheng T’ang Collection is illustrated in Ancient Chinese
Sculpture II, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, 2000, p. 90, no. 35.
Provenance: Belgian private collection. Another figure shown standing and dated to the Northern Song dynasty,
condition: Original unrestored condition, very impressive considering is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian; Wudai Song diaosu,
the age of this piece! Age cracks, losses, deterioration to backside. Beijing, 1988, vol. 5, p. 91, no. 84.
remains of green, red, black, and flesh pigments. The back with a
significant recess, probably originally to store religious artefacts, the Auction result comparison: A related but considerably larger figure from the
sealing lost.
Song dynasty was sold by Christie’s New york in Fine Chinese Ceramics and
Works of Art on 17 September 2008, lot 383, for USD $30,000 incl. buyer’s
Weight: 3.4 kg premium. Another related, but considerably larger figure, dated 13th to
Dimensions: Height 46 cm (the figure) and 50.7 cm (incl. base) 16th century, was sold in these rooms on 29 September 2018, lot 135, for
EUR €37,000 excl. buyer’s premium.
The immortal is wearing a band around his waist holding his elegant,
flowing robes falling into voluminous folds, the band is bound together 道教仙人木像，金至明代
by a bow, one hand is resting on the bow, the other on his left knee. The 中國，十二至十六世紀。仙人頭戴文官帽，彩繪精美。面部表情柔和，機富表現力，
simple and low-relief folds of his robes, which fall in vertical parallel lines, 散發著寧靜和自信的感覺，眼睛低垂，慈祥微笑。
are reminiscent of stone sculpture and further emphasize the majesty of
the dignitary. 來源：比利時私人收藏
品相：原始未修復狀態，考慮到這件作品的年代，其狀況非常令人印象深刻！ 年代
裂縫、缺失，已延申到背面。綠色、紅色、黑色和肉色彩繪顔料殘餘。背面有一個明
Mounted on an associated wood base. (2) 顯的凹口，可能最初是用來存放宗教法器的，封口遺失。
重量：3.4 公斤
Literature comparison: Compare with a similarly carved sculpture of a 尺寸：像高46 厘米，含底座50.7 厘米
female immortal with the hands concealed beneath a cloth, included in
the exhibition of Cultural Artifacts of Taoism, National Museum of History, estimate euR 1.500,-
Taipei, 2006, p. 131. See also a wood figure of a standing deity, attributed Starting price EUr 750,-

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