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Lot 146
MAGNIFIQUE ET IMPORTANTE PAIRE DE GRANDES CHIMÈRES EN BRONZE Époque Qianlong (1736-1795)
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11 June 2025, 11:30 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €4,065,600 inc. premium
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MAGNIFIQUE ET IMPORTANTE PAIRE DE GRANDES CHIMÈRES EN BRONZE
Époque Qianlong (1736-1795)
A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT PAIR OF MASSIVE BRONZE BIXIE
Qianlong period (1736-1795)
Cast in the round, powerfully built, sitting on their hind legs, with powerful forepaws supporting their strongly muscled bodies, their heads turned upwards with mouths wide open, baring impressive fangs and exposing their lolling tongues, with bulging eyes below prominent brows and pointed ears, the rounded back with a stylised mane along the spine, the legs with distinct, stylised wings, the bronze patinated to a dark greenish tone.
93 cm high x 53 cm wide x 80 cm deep (36 5/8 in. high x 20 7/8 in. wide x 31 1/2 in. deep) (2).
A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT PAIR OF MASSIVE BRONZE BIXIE
Qianlong period (1736-1795)
Cast in the round, powerfully built, sitting on their hind legs, with powerful forepaws supporting their strongly muscled bodies, their heads turned upwards with mouths wide open, baring impressive fangs and exposing their lolling tongues, with bulging eyes below prominent brows and pointed ears, the rounded back with a stylised mane along the spine, the legs with distinct, stylised wings, the bronze patinated to a dark greenish tone.
93 cm high x 53 cm wide x 80 cm deep (36 5/8 in. high x 20 7/8 in. wide x 31 1/2 in. deep) (2).
Footnotes
PROPERTY OF A LADY
女士藏品
Provenance:
Collection of Rudolf Münemann (1908-1982), thence by descent.
According to the family, the pair of bixie was acquired from the Drummond family in the 1960s.
清乾隆 銅辟邪一對
來源
Rudolf Münemann（1908-1982）珍藏，後經家族流傳至今
據家族描述，此對辟邪於1960年代得自德拉蒙德家族
This magnificent pair of bronze beasts is outstanding for their impressive size and distinctive style. Powerfully built with strong physical features, staunchly seated in a poised yet fierce posture, their presence is truly imposing. With their heads raised and mouths wide open, they give the impression that at any given moment their roars will echo forth. Their strong, muscular physique and naturalistic pose exude the mythical beasts' majestic strength and powerful nature.
Similar to lions, these two mythical beasts may be identified as bixie based on the stylised wings that issue from their shoulders and legs. Most importantly, they are directly inspired by stone bixie dating to the Six Dynasties (AD 265-589) which, in turn, were a continuation of stone sculptures going back to the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220). Han emperors and royalty first adopted the image of the strong and regal bixie, and arranged large stone sculptures of these magnificent beasts in pairs in front of important shrines and tombs. One of the earliest surviving examples of bixie sculptures is a striking pair flanking the spirit path of an Eastern Han tomb dated 209 AD in Yaoqiao, Ya'an, Sichuan, published in Zhongguo diaosu shi tulu, vol.1, Shanghai, p.201, fig.235:2. Powerfully sculpted in a prowling, unrestrained position and displaying stylised wings at the shoulders, this sculpture shows the creature's unbridled, untamable strength and supernatural power. The bixie's role as a guardian figure warding off evil and emblem of power continued throughout Chinese dynastic history when pairs of massive lion figures made in stone were placed in front of Buddhist temple gates and shrines, and at the entrance of imperial and noble mausoleums. See, for instance, the monumental stone lions flanking the spirit path of the tombs of Prince Xiao Xiu (d. 518 AD) of the Liang dynasty in Ganjia xiang near Nanjing, published by Victor Segalen, The Great Statuary of China, Chicago, 1978, pl.30, p.105.
However, the highly stylised image of the ferocious prowling beast often depicted with wings and a single horn that had dominated funerary sculpture throughout the Han and subsequent Six Dynasties period was replaced by a more docile and restrained representation of the same mythical beast from the Tang dynasty onward. The image of a seated lion resting on strong rear legs, with muscular forelegs firmly planted and naturalistically rendered with a mane, fangs and impressive claws became the model of all future lion or bixie sculptures, carved in stone or more preciously, cast in bronze. Among the numerous large lion and mythical beast sculptures in the Imperial Palace compounds of the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, three similarly large stone sculptures of bixie show a remarkably close resemblance to the present pair of bronze bixie.
Flanking the stairs leading up to the Marble Pagoda (Qingjing huacheng ta) at the Lamaist Western Yellow Temple (Xihuang si), are a pair of white marble bixie of similar size and compact rounded and highly stylised design, nearly identical to the present pair of bronze bixie. Elevated on elaborate plinths, they occupy a central position, see Dennis Mennie, The Pageant of Peking, Beijing, 1920, pl.51. The Xihuang si was originally founded in 1651 by the Shunzhi emperor (r. 1644-1661) as the residence of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso. In 1778, the Qianlong emperor invited to Beijing the Sixth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Palden Yeshe, considered an emanation of Buddha Amitabha, to celebrate the emperor's 70th birthday. To mark the historical event the emperor ordered the construction of Xumi Fushou Temple in Jehol. The Panchen Lama left Beijing in 1780 and was showered by the emperor with riches and honours. However, on arrival in November 1780, he contracted illness and died shortly thereafter. The Qianlong emperor, to commemorate the Parinirvana of the Sixth Panchen Lama, ordered the construction of a Marble Pagoda just behind the temple's main hall, and named it the Qingjing Huacheng Pagoda. The works were completed in 1782, and the pair of marble bixie are part of the Marble Pagoda complex.
A third stone bixie of the same size and design is reproduced by Osvald Siren in his book Histoire des Arts Anciens de la Chine, vol. III. La Sculpture de l 'Époque Han a l'Epoque Ming, Paris and Brussels, 1930, pl.127 . The caption locates the sculpture in front of a temple at the Longevity Hill complex (Wanshoushan) just outside of Beijing and above the New Summer Palace. The Zhihuihai Temple, or Temple of the Sea of Perfect Wisdom, is located at the top of the Longevity Hill complex and was part of the vast landscape of gardens, palaces, temples and lakes in Imperial Beijing built in 1750, the 15th year of the Qianlong emperor's reign.
These three closely related examples in Xihuang Temple and the Wanshoushan temple complex, though carved in stone, allow a definite dating of the present pair of magnificent bronze bixie to the Qianlong reign period, and were very likely a special commission by the Qianlong emperor for an important Imperial complex.
Compare this pair of bronze bixie with another pair of massive bronze Buddhist lions on their original bronze plinths, dated to the first half of the Qing dynasty, sold in Christie's Paris, 8 December 2021, lot 116. See also a pair of massive bronze censers cast in the shape of a bixie, sold in Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2019, lot 720.
Saleroom notices
Please kindly note that the title of this lot should read: A magnificent and important pair of massive bronze-alloy bixie. Veuillez noter que le titre du lot doit être : Magnifique et importante paire de chimères en alliage de bronze. 敬請注意，此拍品名稱應為：銅合金辟邪一對。
