Page 52 - 2021 March 15th Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonhams NYC New York
P. 52

PROPERTY OF AN ENGLISH LADY                       For a late Ming dynasty seated ivory figure of Guandi dated to
                                                             between 1580-1644, see Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the
           52                                                Qing, The Oriental Ceramic Society and British Museum, London,
           A MAGNIFICENT LARGE SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF GUANDI    1984, pp. 101-102, no. 110. The figure, like ours, firmly grasps his
           ON ROCKWORK PEDESTAL                              long beard with one hand. The authors note that the pose belongs
           17th/18th Century                                 to the repertory of exaggerated gestures of the Chinese theatrical
           The figure standing but attached to a separate rock pedestal in an   tradition, which identify and amplify the emotional state of the
           imposing stance with his left foot turned outward and his right hand   moment. In our case he stands and strikes a formidable pose with
           raised to carefully hold the weight of his lengthy beard to his right side,   feet well apart and pointing in opposite decorations, to give a subtle
           his other hand clutching his belt at his left side which dutifully skirts   contraposto movement to the sculpture. His left hand clutches his
           his ample belly which is incised and gilt with a large open-mouthed   belt in opposing movement to the pulling of his beard. See also, ibid.,
           four-clawed scaly dragon amidst cloud scrolls, below his belt two   p. 107, no. 119, another soapstone figure of Guandi in the British
           confronted dragons contest a flaming pearl in a wide band and below   Museum from the Sloane Collection (OA SL.1174).
           this are large stylized rockwork groupings amidst frothing water and
           waves, cranes fly on his sleeves, his armor visible at his upper chest   A large soapstone seated figure of Guandi, also pulling at his beard,
           and shoulders, the reverse side has further dragons and clouds, the   and dated to the Kangxi period (1662-1722) was sold at Christie’s,
           majestic face superbly carved with heavy lids, knotted brows and   Hong Kong, 28 November 2017, lot 2921, where it is noted that the
           sensitive mouth, many minute details incised throughout the carving   aesthetic is reminiscent of the lengthened proportions and elongated
           and further highlighted by black pigments and gilding.   eyes found in late Ming dynasty woodblock prints by the painter
           10 1/2in (26.7cm) high, the figure only; 14 1/2in (36.8cm.) high, overall  Chen Hongshou (1599-1602). It was previously published by A & J
                                                             Speelman Chinese Works of Art, 2008, pp. 58-59, no. 25. A slightly
           $15,000 - 25,000                                  smaller figure, similarly posed clutching his beard and dated to the
                                                             18th century, sold at Christie’s, London, 14 May 2015, lot 535.
           十七/十八世紀 壽山石雕關帝像                                   For another smaller standing figure of Guandi, see Ben Janssens,
                                                             Oriental Art, Chinese and Asian Art, London, TEFAF 2019, no. 43,
                                                             www.benjanssens.com.

                                                             Another very large soapstone figure of a scholar official (52
                                                             cm. high) dated to the 17th/18th century is illustrated by M.N.
                                                             Kretchetova, Carved Stone of China at the Hermitage, Leningrad,
                                                             1960, no. 44 and 45.

                                                             Guandi (Guan Yu), the Chinese God of War, became a military hero
                                                             during the late Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE.). He continued
                                                             to be worshipped as a deity long after his death. He was deified
                                                             during the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE.). In 1594, he was awarded the
                                                             posthumous title of ‘Emperor Guan’ (Guan Di). His cult culminated
                                                             in his depiction in the 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo
                                                             Guanzhong, Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) where
                                                             his virtuos qualities, military prowess and loyalty were emphasized.

                                                             Soapstone, known in Chinese as hua shi meaning literally ‘slippery
                                                             stone’, is among the softest of all stones, a quality which makes
                                                             it particularly suitable for intricate details. It is also known as
                                                             shoushan shi, after the town in Fujian province where many
                                                             carvings were produced.
























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