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Lot Essay
These two magnificent wood sculptures represent bodhisattvas, the enlightened deities of Buddhism. Although the identifying attributes signified by the hand gestures are missing, they would likely have formed part of a larger group of figures in the retinue of a Buddha. Such arrangements exist as early as the Tang dynasty (618 – 906), They remained represented in the Chinese Buddhist pantheon up through the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644).
Stylistically, the heavy folds of the robes, obscuring the features of the body, and the fleshy jowls of the face, represent a continuation of an earlier Song dynasty (960 – 1279) style. The unusual ruyi-form collar or mantle is also found in other figures from this period: compare with an example from the Yuan dynasty (1260 – 1368), currently in the British Museum, and illustrated by Sun Di, ed. Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Sculptures in Overseas Collections, vol. 7, Beijing, 2005, p. 1412. The tall, ‘beaded’ crown is also typical for Yuan and Ming figures of bodhisattvas, as seen in a pair of Yuan-Ming-dynasty standing bodhisattvas from the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculptural Treasures: Carvings in Wood, Kaohsiung, 1998, pp. 62-65, cat. nos. 9 and 10.
C14 test results (RCD-8596 and RCD-8597, RCD Lockinge) dated 2016, consistent with our dating, are available on request.
Stylistically, the heavy folds of the robes, obscuring the features of the body, and the fleshy jowls of the face, represent a continuation of an earlier Song dynasty (960 – 1279) style. The unusual ruyi-form collar or mantle is also found in other figures from this period: compare with an example from the Yuan dynasty (1260 – 1368), currently in the British Museum, and illustrated by Sun Di, ed. Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Sculptures in Overseas Collections, vol. 7, Beijing, 2005, p. 1412. The tall, ‘beaded’ crown is also typical for Yuan and Ming figures of bodhisattvas, as seen in a pair of Yuan-Ming-dynasty standing bodhisattvas from the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculptural Treasures: Carvings in Wood, Kaohsiung, 1998, pp. 62-65, cat. nos. 9 and 10.
C14 test results (RCD-8596 and RCD-8597, RCD Lockinge) dated 2016, consistent with our dating, are available on request.