Page 133 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE LOS ANGELES COLLECTION
1129
A LARGE PARCEL-GILT LACQUERED BRONZE
FIGURE OF BUDDHA
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
The figure is supported on a separate bronze lotus-petal
base.
28º in (71.7 cm) high including base
92 lbs (41 kg) including base
$120,000-180,000
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Southern California.
Bonhams San Francisco, 10 December 2012, lot 5056.
The present figure is shown seated in dhyanasana
with his hands held in bhumisparsha mudra - the
earth touching gesture, which help to identify this
large figure as Shakyamuni (the Historical Buddha).
This mudra represents the moment of the Buddha's
awakening as he claims the earth as the witness of his
enlightenment. The small raised circular protuberance
on the Buddha’s forehead represents the curl of white
hair between the Buddha’s eyebrows from which
issues a ray of light illuminating all worlds. The gilded
surfaces on the Buddha’s body not only make the
sculpture appropriate for representing a deity but also
symbolize the light that, according to the sacred texts
or sutra, radiates from his body.

This exceptional figure embodies the classical Chinese
sculptural style as interpreted in the mid- to late Ming
period in contrast to the Tibeto-Chinese style that was
popular at the imperial court at the time. Its large size
and fine casting suggest that it was made for a major
temple, perhaps commissioned by an important patron
as a devout gift. The present figure can be compared
to a gilt-lacquered bronze figure of Buddha, and a gilt-
lacquered bronze medicine Buddha, both of very similar
size, sold at Christie’s New York, 23-24 September
2021, lot 776 and 777. See, also, the parcel-gilt bronze
figure of Buddha of smaller size, sold at Sotheby’s New
York, 7 April 1988, lot 303, and again at Christie’s New
York, 22-23 September 2022, lot 841.

洛杉磯私́珍藏
明ǎ局部鎏金漆銅釋迦Ḯ尼ζ像
重 千Գ 斤
Ϝ源
南؟州私́珍藏
舊金山邦瀚斯
年 月 日
拍品編號