Page 20 - Bonhams, FIne Chinese Art, Linda Wrigglesworth Collection, May 13, 2021 London

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY 女士藏品

8 *
A VERY RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRAPUTRA
14th/15th century
The figure sturdily cast seated in rajalita asana with the left foot resting
on a lion cub, holding a bead of mala from a rosary in his right hand and
a ruyi sceptre in his left, the contemplative face with a serene expression
defined by gently-pursed lips and downcast eyes beneath long, arched
eyebrows flanked by pendulous ears and curly locks at the temples, the
beard arranged in small curls around the chin, wearing a loosely-fitting
shawl covering the shoulders above a diaphanous dhoti finely detailed
with incised floral scrolls at the hem, falling gently over the legs and
secured by a bow around the bare chest, stand.
23cm (9in) high. (2)

£50,000 - 80,000
CNY450,000 - 720,000

十四至十五世紀 銅鎏金笑獅羅漢像

Provenance: a distinguished Italian private collection

來源：意大利傑出私人收藏

The present figure is a rare and fine example of Buddhist portraiture, hundred, or multiples of this number. These numbers are usually taken
displaying remarkable casting and vividly-exemplified craftmanship. to give an indication as to the size of the multitude, and are not meant to
The figure is elegant and well proportioned, and meticulous attention be literal. In Chinese art however, these numbers became a convenient
to detail has been devoted to the harmonious rendering of the gentle convention for portraying these worthy disciples of the Buddha.
facial expression, the tight curls of the hair and beard, and finally the
elegant features of the garments, from the fine gentle folds of the One of the earliest portrayals of the luohan dating to the 6th century,
shawl, conveying the weight and texture of the fabric, to the bowed depicts them as a group listening to the Buddha’s teachings in a
sash securing the robe around the waist. Buddhist cave at Longmen, in Henan Province. The earliest reference
to a group of sixteen arhats, believed to be the earliest followers of
Vajraputra was a lion hunter before converting to Buddhism. After the Buddha, occurs during the 8th century. By the Song dynasty
the attained Enlightenment, a little lion came playfully to his side. The (960-1279), this number had expanded to eighteen and by the Ming
animal seemed to be grateful to him for giving up the life of killing dynasty, arhats were also depicted in set of sixteen, as seen in the
lions, sparing its parents and brothers. Since then, Vajraputra and figures sculpted in the Shuanglin Temple, Pingyao, Shanxi Province,
the lion have become inseparable. The lion with its roar symbolises illustrated in Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, Beijing, 1991,
the invincibility of Buddhism; see T.Watters, ‘The Eighteen Lohan of pp.193-226.
Chinese Buddhist Temples’, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland, 1898, pp.329-347. The facial features and garments worn by the present figure closely
compare with a gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Yuan dynasty,
Luohan were perfected beings, disciples of Buddha who attained and another gilt-bronze figure of a luohan, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi
Enlightenment but chose to remain engaged in the world, postponing period, 1426, both illustrated in Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art.
nirvana, in order to aid all sentient beings. These figures achieved 232 Masterpieces, Cologne, 2016, pp.178-179, no.62, and pp.182-
Enlightenment through instruction, not meditation, and as a result, 183, no.64.
ranked just below bodhisattvas. In Buddhist texts, the Buddha is
described variously as being accompanied by luohan, either fifty, five

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
18 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.