Bonhams 1793 : A rare and large gilt-bronze figure of a lady 16th/17th century

16th/17th century
The impressive figure cast with her hands clasped beneath the robes supporting a curved plaque, the face set with a serene expression, the mouth coloured red, the parted hair with tied braids and adorned with hair pins, wearing long flowing robes tied at the centre with a knot, the robes incised with floral scrolls and geometric designs at the hems and with feather embellishments below the ruyi-shaped sleeves with a further ruyi below the necklace at the chest, the back illustrating the multi-layered garment centred by a large rectangular panel adorned with a chrysanthemum spray, the upturned shoes protruding from beneath the hem.
45.5cm (17 15/16in) high

Estimate:

£55,000 - 65,000
HK$ 650,000 - 760,000
CNY 510,000 - 600,000

Footnotes

十六/十七世紀銅鎏金仕女立像

It is very rare to find such a large gilt bronze standing figure, particularly one of a female figure and without any clear Buddhist iconography. Instead the present lot is decorated with ruyi-heads and feathers at the sleeves, and is carrying a long object wrapped in a cloth. She is more likely to represent one of the female Daoist deities, possibly the Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn (碧霞元君 Bixia Yuanjun), the daughter of the god of Mount Tai in Shandong province. A palace to Bixia Yuanjun was built at the top of Mount Tai during the Ming Dynasty as a focus for pilgrimage. She was a popular deity renowned for her compassion, often depicted with ruyi motifs and carrying a tablet wrapped in cloth. See an earlier bronze example of this figure dated to the Southern Song Dynasty, illustrated by P.Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E.Kresko Collections, Saint Louis, 2008, no.1.

Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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