Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
Lot 391
A RARE DOCUMENTARY BRONZE SEATED FIGURE OF GUANYIN 17th century
17 May 2023, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £82,200 inc. premium
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Olivia Xu
Associate Specialist
Chen Xie
Specialist
A RARE DOCUMENTARY BRONZE SEATED FIGURE OF GUANYIN
17th century
The Goddess of Mercy exquisitely cast seated cross-legged, the face swaying gently to her left, wearing beaded necklaces and long flowing robes falling in graceful cloud-like folds, the face with a benevolent and serene expression under a cowl, the bronze with a dark-chocolate patina, cast with a calligraphic inscription on the base, J.H.C. inscribed on the rim of the base, stand. 33cm (13in) high. (2).
The Goddess of Mercy exquisitely cast seated cross-legged, the face swaying gently to her left, wearing beaded necklaces and long flowing robes falling in graceful cloud-like folds, the face with a benevolent and serene expression under a cowl, the bronze with a dark-chocolate patina, cast with a calligraphic inscription on the base, J.H.C. inscribed on the rim of the base, stand. 33cm (13in) high. (2).
Footnotes
十七世紀 銅鑄觀音坐像
Published and Illustrated: Michael Goedhuis, Chinese and Japanese Bronzes A.D.1100-1900, London, 1989, no.8
展覽著錄：Michael Goedhuis著，《Chinese and Japanese Bronzes A.D.1100-1900》, 倫敦, 1989年, 編號8
The present lot is remarkable and rare not only for its fine casting and unusual features such as the slightly tilted head, but also for the seventeen-character inscription on the base with the name of the maker Yang Sheng. The inscription reads:
碧雞楊盛為信官蔣榮焚香拜造于梅雪窯
Which may be translated as:
'Yang Sheng of Bixi made this for the believer Jiang Rong whilst burning incense and worshipping at the Plum Blossom and Snow Dwelling'
Compare with two related bronze and silver-inlaid seated figures of Guanyin, Ming dynasty, Shisou marks, illustrated in Guanyin in the Collection of the Palace Museum: Classics of the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2012, p.71, no.41, and also p.72, no.42.