Sale
16868 - Fine Chinese Art, 5 Nov 2009
New Bond Street
Lot No: 40
The property of a Lady A rare cloisonné and champlevé enamel figure of Guanyin
18th century
The tall and graceful figure dynamically posed slightly turned to the left, with the hands held in front, the left hand held in harina mudra and the right holding onto to the left hand, the gilt face with a serene expression below the high chignon covered with a cowl, the robes falling in folds around the body and swaying in the wind, tied at the waist with a ribbon, enamelled with archistic dragons, the hems variously enamelled with foliate scrolls, geometric designs and demi-flowerheads, adorned with beaded necklaces on the chest and bracelets on the arms, wood stand.
43.8cm (17¼in) high. (2).
Sold for £305,600 inclusive of Buyer's Premium
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Footnote:
Provenance: an English private collection; according to the family probably, acquired in the late 19th/ early 20th century, and thence by descent.
Early examples of cloisonné enamel figures seem to date from the 17th century and are particularly rare. The heavy gilt wiring, the demi-flowerheads and chilong dragon decoration on the robes, all point in dating to the Kangxi period. Such early examples are rare as is the particular modelling of the present lot as Guanyin. This particular figure of Guanyin has been exquisitely modelled, the face with a graceful serene expression, the robes naturally cast swaying in the wind.
Compare a cloisonné and champlevé enamel figure of a European, attributed to the 17th century, illustrated by G.G.Avitable, Die Ware aus dem Teufelsland: Chinesische und japanische Cloisonné-und Champlevé-Arbeiten von 1400 bis 1900, Frankfurt am Main, 1981, Catalogue no.98. See also a pair of cloisonné enamel kneeling boys, attributed to the Kangxi period, similarly enamelled with archaistic dragons on their robes, sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 September 2007, lot 156.
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