Page 138 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art November 2018

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A VERY RARE LACQUERED-BRONZE FIGURE OF ‘WILLOW-
BRANCH’ GUANYIN
14th/15th century
The Goddess of Compassion crisply cast standing, her left hand
holding a vase, her right hand holding a sprig of willow resting on her
shoulder, richly adorned with jewels and scarves, the slightly elongated
face with a benevolent expression beneath a tall elaborate crown with
Amitabha Buddha, traces of gilt and lacquer remaining, stand.
38.5cm (15 1/4in) high (2).
£50,000 - 80,000
CNY450,000 - 720,000
十四/十五世紀 銅漆金觀音立像

This sculpture of Avalokiteshvara holding a willow branch is extremely
rare, exhibiting various elements that had survived in Yunnan for
several centuries after they had long disappeared in the more
important centers of Chinese Buddhism.

This particular iconography of Avalokiteshvara or Guanyin holding a
willow over the right shoulder and a vase in the left hand, appears to
be unique to China. As Luo Wenhua noted ‘there have never been
any traces found of willow-branch Guanyin in India, and this form
of Avalokiteshvara was supposedly created in China around the 6th
century, possibly composed of Indian Buddhist iconographic elements
and Chinese Daoist medical beliefs’; see Luo Wenhua, ‘A Survey of a
Willow-branch Guanyin Attributed to the Tenth Karmapa in the Palace
Museum and Related Questions’, in The Tenth Karmapa and Tibet’s
Turbulent Seventeenth Century, Chicago, 2016, p.158.

Although the ‘willow-branch’ form of Guanyin was popular during
the late Sui to early Tang periods, this form of Guanyin gradually
died out, surviving only in a few outer regions, particularly in Yunnan;
see K.Debreczeny and G.Tuttle eds., The Tenth Karmapa & Tibet’s
Turbulent Seventeenth Century, Chicago, 2016, p.211.

The jewellery is striking, featuring a large typically Chinese ruyi head
necklace, but the elongated face and tall headdress is more typical
of South-east Asian style and areas such as Yunnan on the Burmese
border. See for example, a much earlier bronze figure of Guanyin,
Yunnan, 12th century, but with similarly elongated face and headdress,
as well as of similar stance and position, in the British Museum,
London (ac.no.1950,0215.1). Another 12th century example of
Guanyin, with similar face and headdress, was sold at Christie’s New
York, 16-17 September 2010, lot 1005.

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