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A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
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A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 1
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 2
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 3
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 4
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 5
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 6
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 7
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 8
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 9
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 10
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 11
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 12
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 13
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 14
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 15
A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha Yongle six-character mark image 16
Property from a Southwest Collector
Lot 8018

A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha
Yongle six-character mark

Fine Chinese Works of Art
16 December 2014, 10:00 PST
San Francisco

Sold for US$305,000 inc. premium

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A gilt bronze seated figure of Buddha

Yongle six-character mark
Wearing a voluminous well-defined sanghati, with the antaravasaka undergarment rippling at the chest, his hair in tight curls covering the conical ushnisha above, and long pierced earlobes, with hands in bhumishparsha mudra and seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus pedestal inscribed with a Yongle reign mark on its upper surface and sealed with a plate beneath incised with a visvavajra and traces of red lacquer.
7 7/8in (20cm) high

Footnotes

The statue is defined by an idiosyncratic sculptural manner within the Yongle stylistic parameters, and superb color and condition. Yet a number of variances are found that fall outside these parameters.

Firstly, the treatment of the outer lotus petal does not follow the convention of Yongle or other known Ming period casting. The long narrow petals have a median ridge and the tip of curves out slightly to a smooth point. The convention is rounded with an ornate scrolled element to suggest the layers of fine curling petals at the tip. The wider inner petal and smaller spacing petals are consistent as is the beading on the upper and lower edges. While subtle variation is found throughout the body of known Yongle period bronzes, the stylistic convention is strictly adhered to.

Only one other examples of faceted pointed petals is currently known from the period that sold Sotheby's, New York, 26 March 1996, lot 6. However the form of the petal is more commonly found in sculpture from the 17th-18th century. Two Tara figures in the Summer Palace at Rehol have similar treatment of the petals, but only have a single line of beading along the upper edge of the base, (see Buddhist Art from Rehol, pp. 85 and 91, nos. 22 and 25). A Padmasambhava figure in the Museum Rietberg dated to the 17th century is cast with petals with pointed curving tips, but they are plump and lack the median ridge.

Further variances are found the high forehead, slender torso, and thick rippling under garment at the chest, and slightly smaller size. The execution of the Yongle reign mark on the base does not provide any variance or indication that it was added later, further complicating the attribution.

While the overall hue of the gilding, areas of wear and treatment of the incised visvajra are consistent with 15th century casting, there is a preponderance of anomalies that make it difficult to be certain of the age.

For other Buddha figures recently offered and published include: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, October 7, 2010, lot 2142; Christie's, New York, March 30, 2006, lot 180; Sotheby's, Hong Kong, April 4, 2012, lot 3225; Sotheby's, Hong Kong, April 11, 2008, lot 3049; Christie's, London, 11 July 2006, lot 96; Christie's, London, November 13, 2001, lot 116.

Also compare with two enthroned Buddha figures, one in the British Museum, W. Zwalf, ed, Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, 1985, cat. 305, and the other from the Speelman Collection, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 808. Also see Ulrich von Schroeder's survey of Tibetan monastery collections, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, pl. 358A; another, with the reign mark erased, is now in a private collection, Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong 1981, 146D.

The Yongle emperor (1403-24) had a very close affinity to Tibetan Buddhism and revered the high lamas of all the major sects. Tibetan Buddhism had become influential under the Yuan dynasty, which utilised it to cement its sphere of influence over Tibet. Under the Yongle emperor, imperial patronage was extended. In the first year of his reign, he invited the Fifth Karmapa to Beijing to perform funeral rites for his parents. Throughout his reign, numerous Buddhist images cast in Beijing were sent as gifts to high-ranking Tibetan lamas and dignitaries. The remoteness of the Tibetan plateau, combined with the reverence in which these Buddhist images were held and preserved in the numerous monasteries, provided the perfect environment for their survival prior to the Communist invasion of Tibet.

Provenance:
H. Medill Sarkisian, Denver
acquired from the above 7 July, 1980
According to notes by Mr. Sarkisian, the work was acquired by him in India in the early 1960's

Additional information

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A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
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