Page 72 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

Fig. 5 The present fgures as illustrated by O. Sirén, in Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, London, 1925, vol. 3, pl. 372.

These majestic sculptures date to the Tang dynasty, likely to the early In terms of free-standing sculptures carved in the round, the closest
eighth century, as indicated by the elegant presentation and naturalistic counterparts to these sculptures are the two previously mentioned Tang
modeling, which are hallmarks of the Tang style and which are most evident limestone sculptures representing standing bodhisattvas in the University of
23
in the fgures’ graceful tribhanga 三屈, or “thrice-bent”, poses that impart an Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia (C111 and C112), the closely related pair
24
S-curve to the bodies and thus imply the possibility of movement, imbuing in the National Museum of History, Taipei, and the similar pair that J.J. Lally
25
the fgures with life. The feshy necks, each with three strongly articulated & Co., New York, exhibited in 2017. In addition, closely related is a limestone
folds, and the well-modelled faces with plump cheeks point to an early sculpture of a standing bodhisattva sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March
eighth-century date of creation, as do the bulging, downcast eyes set under 1999, lot 162 and that recently sold again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April
heavy lids, within deep sockets, and under brows created by the sharp 2018, lot 3023.
intersection of eye socket and forehead planes. With their bow-shaped upper
26
lips and “bee-stung” lower lips, the small, slightly pursed mouths are also Published as early as 1925 (Fig. 5) and subsequently thereafter, as well, this
characteristic of the early eighth-century style, as are the cleft chins and pair of standing bodhisattvas boasts an enviable provenance. Grenville L.
the dimples that frame each mouth. The meticulously coifed hair, arranged Winthrop (1864–1943), the renowned New York collector of early Chinese
27
with a high chignon and delicately combed locks on either side of a central art and of European drawings and paintings, once owned the pair, as did
part, also refects the Tang taste for naturalistic detail. Falling gracefully in distinguished Chicago collectors James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and his wife
28
long, elliptical folds over the lower portion of each body, the sheer drapery Marilynn. Not only has the pair been featured in exhibitions at the Houston
clings suficiently tightly to reveal not only the presence of the body but Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX, 1954), the O’Shaugnessy Art Gallery ar the
also its structure, another feature typical of the early eighth-century style. University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN, 1956), the Wadsworth Atheneum
And the S-curve pose causes Guanyin’s long, double chain of pearls to fall (Hartford, CT, 1958), and The Arts Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL, 1970), but they
asymmetrically, further implying the possibility of motion, a characteristic passed through the galleries of prominent art dealers in New York and London,
feature of eighth-century sculptures. including Yamanaka & Co. 山中商会, Frank Caro (successor to C.T. Loo 盧芹齋),
Parke-Bernet Galleries, and Christie’s (all of New York), and Eskenazi (London).
Though carved in the round and fnished in the back, these magnifcent
bodhisattvas’ closest counterparts are the bodhisattvas that fank a Maitreya Elegant and refned, these bodhisattvas are masterworks of Chinese Buddhist
Buddha in a low-relief triad set within a niche (石造浮彫弥勒三尊仏龕) in a sculpture. They perfectly represent the Tang-dynasty style at the moment of its
limestone architectural relief from the Qibaotai 七寶台, or “Tower of Seven maturation in the early eighth century; as such, they rank as classics, not only of
Treasures”, which originally was part of the Guangzhai Monastery 光宅寺 Chinese sculpture but of world sculpture.
in ancient Chang’an 長安, the Tang capital (modern Xi’an 西安). Now in the
collection of the Tokyo National Museum 東京國立博物館 (TC-718), that relief
20
is datable to 704. These sculptures also relate in style to other limestone Robert D. Mowry
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
architectural-relief sculptures from the Qibaotai, such as the Eleven-Headed
Guanyin now in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Harvard Art Museums, and
(F1909.98), which is datable to 703. (Fig. 4) They also are closely akin to Senior Consultant, Christie’s
21
a sandstone relief sculpture of a standing bodhisattva from Cave 14 of the
Buddhist grottoes at Tianlongshan, near Taiyuan, Shanxi province 山西省太原
市天龍山石窟; believed to date c. 700, that sculpture now is in the collection of
the Museum Rietberg, Zürich, Switzerland (RCH 134). 22
70