Page 122 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

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A RARE ZITAN FIGURE OF A TANTRIC SIDDHA
TIBET, 17TH CENTURY
14 in. (35.6 cm.) high

$100,000-150,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Hong Kong, acquired in 1984.
The present work is carved entirely from zitan, a hardwood from India that
was exported to China in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. While zitan
is a general term which includes numerous species of wood, it is commonly
agreed that it belongs to the genus Pterocarpus. A purplish-black, fne-grained
hardwood, zitan was considered the most prized hardwood by the Chinese.
The density of the wood makes this material especially suitable for fne and
intricate carving. While much of the zitan that came from India to China and
Tibet was used for furniture, as the hard grain of the wood made it resistant to
splitting and swelling in changes of climate, smaller quantities were used for
boxes and other scholars’ accoutrement. Fewer works of sculpture in zitan are
known, although the precious nature of the wood meant it would have been an
appropriate material for an object of worship. Due to its slow-growing nature,
zitan often was only available in small quantities. The somewhat large size of
the present work was achieved by individually carving several separate blocks
of zitan and ingeniously joining them together with cylindrical pegs.
The appearance of the present fgure, seated on an animal skin over a
rockwork base, with rotund form, naked body adorned with bone ornaments,
and jatas of coiled dreadlocks on the top of the head identify the fgure as a
tantric siddha. Of the three forms of siddhas, the tantric appearance is the
most commonly known in Tibetan depictions of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24542.

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