Page 95 - March 17, 2020 Impotant Chinese Art, Sotheby's, New York

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A LARGE GILT-BRONZE HEAD OF PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN
BIXIA YUANJUN PRIVATE COLLECTION
MING DYNASTY A LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
cast with a benevolent expression with WEITUO
downcast eyes and a gentle smile, the hair MING DYNASTY
gathered into a chignon framed by an elaborate
headdress formed from three phoenixes, the guardian deity standing, with the right
patches of polychrome pigments visible hand lowered to the side and the left raised
throughout, wood stand (2) with an outstretched palm, the crisply modeled
Height 16½ in., 42 cm youthful face gazing forward intently below a
winged helmet adorned with phoenix, wearing
ornate armor secured with cords, sashes and
$ 20,000-30,000 an inlaid belt, further adorned with ferocious
mythical beasts, a celestial scarf encircling the
明 銅鎏金碧霞元君首像 shoulders, extensively detailed and gilt, later
stand
Height 17⅝ in., 44.8 cm

252 PROVENANCE
P.C. Lu & Sons, Hong Kong, 1st July 1983.
PROPERTY FROM A CANADIAN PRIVATE Compare a large gilt-bronze figure of Weituo
COLLECTION
in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum,
A LARGE STONE HEAD OF AN Seattle, illustrated by Hugo Munsterberg,
OFFICIAL Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967,
MING DYNASTY pl. 94; and another in similar posture sold
251 in our London rooms, 17th October 1978,
well carved with a solemn expression, the lot 103. A third, with the arms in anjali
rounded oval face with downcast eyes and mudra sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd
gently curved brows arching down to a sharp March 2011, lot 1632.
nose, with full lips and rounded cheeks, donning
a guan featuring a central tablet set behind $ 30,000-50,000
a ruyi head and flanked by celestial motifs,
mounted on stand (2) 明 銅鎏金韋陀立像
Height 21¼ in., 54 cm
PROVENANCE 來源
C.C. Lai Chinese Antique Ltd., Toronto, 16th 魯氏父子有限公司，香港，1983年7月1日
June 2007.
Compare a closely related stone head of an
official, wearing the same official cap and
rendered with similar facial features, attributed
to the Yuan/Ming dynasty, sold at Christie’s
New York, 20th September 2004, lot 138.
See also two related cast iron examples with
similar headdresses, from the Avery Brundage
Collection, attributed to the Ming dynasty,
published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé,
Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the
Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum
of San Francisco, San Francisco, 1974, cat. nos
165 and 166.

⊖ $ 20,000-30,000

明 石雕文官首像
來源
C.C. Lai Chinese Antique Ltd.，多倫
多，2007年6月16日

252

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