Antique and Ancient Sculpture
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Sculpture Roman sculpture Ming Persia India Buddhism Early Buddhist sculpture Egypt Central and South Americas Animals Cats
Chronology : Origin 600 BCE - CE 1 to 1000 15th century 1400-1429 17th century 1620-1629
See also : Sculpture Roman sculpture Ming Persia India Buddhism Early Buddhist sculpture Egypt Central and South Americas Animals Cats
Chronology : Origin 600 BCE - CE 1 to 1000 15th century 1400-1429 17th century 1620-1629
3000 BCE The Guennol Lioness
2007 SOLD for $ 57M by Sotheby's
The Guennol Lioness was sold for $ 57M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2007, lot 30. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This very finely chiseled stone figure 8.3 cm high has the head of a lioness on a human body. It certainly comes from the Iranian plateau and was sold in 1931 to a New York merchant. Its discovery thus precedes the excavations of Tell Agrab, begun in 1936 by a team from the University of Chicago appealed by other finds among the antique dealers of Baghdad.
Such hybrid representations between human and feline date back to prehistoric cultures. The ivory lion-man from the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, dated ca 35,000 to 40,000 years ago by radiocarbon, is the oldest authenticated example of figurative art. The Chauvet cave, painted 30,000 years ago, also includes a lion-woman hybrid.
The Guennol Lioness was sculpted about 5,000 years ago. It belongs to the Proto-Elamite culture, characterized by the development of a proto-writing that has not been decrypted. It is several centuries earlier than the use of the sphinx as a necropolis guardian in Egypt.
It is one of a kind in the round, but is related to similar figures that raise mountains or huge trunks in two-dimensional sigillary iconography. These representations are therefore symbols of extreme power, confirmed in the Guennol Lioness by the hypertrophy of the muscles and the authoritarian position of the head. The head is pierced, allowing to hang it to the neck of a prominent character.
Its name and its exact role in the mythology of that time are not known. It must be analyzed alongside its male counterpart, a bull's head on a human body, of which a kneeling figure is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Unlike the Guennol Lioness whose hands are joined on the abdomen, this proto-Elamite hybrid holds a liturgical vessel.
Guennol is the pseudonym chosen by the couple of collectors who acquired it in 1948 and entrusted its exhibition for almost 60 years to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
This very finely chiseled stone figure 8.3 cm high has the head of a lioness on a human body. It certainly comes from the Iranian plateau and was sold in 1931 to a New York merchant. Its discovery thus precedes the excavations of Tell Agrab, begun in 1936 by a team from the University of Chicago appealed by other finds among the antique dealers of Baghdad.
Such hybrid representations between human and feline date back to prehistoric cultures. The ivory lion-man from the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, dated ca 35,000 to 40,000 years ago by radiocarbon, is the oldest authenticated example of figurative art. The Chauvet cave, painted 30,000 years ago, also includes a lion-woman hybrid.
The Guennol Lioness was sculpted about 5,000 years ago. It belongs to the Proto-Elamite culture, characterized by the development of a proto-writing that has not been decrypted. It is several centuries earlier than the use of the sphinx as a necropolis guardian in Egypt.
It is one of a kind in the round, but is related to similar figures that raise mountains or huge trunks in two-dimensional sigillary iconography. These representations are therefore symbols of extreme power, confirmed in the Guennol Lioness by the hypertrophy of the muscles and the authoritarian position of the head. The head is pierced, allowing to hang it to the neck of a prominent character.
Its name and its exact role in the mythology of that time are not known. It must be analyzed alongside its male counterpart, a bull's head on a human body, of which a kneeling figure is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Unlike the Guennol Lioness whose hands are joined on the abdomen, this proto-Elamite hybrid holds a liturgical vessel.
Guennol is the pseudonym chosen by the couple of collectors who acquired it in 1948 and entrusted its exhibition for almost 60 years to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
2400 BCE Inspector Sekhemka
2014 SOLD for £ 15.8M by Christie's
The Egyptian civilization boomed under the Fourth Dynasty, but the pyramids were the domains of the kings. Under the late 5th dynasty, ca 2400 BCE which was around 100 years after the Great Pyramids, they built a great necropolis near the Pyramid of Khufu at Giza.
Early Egyptians were cautious. In order to preserve the soul in case of damage to the mummy, they placed several painted limestone figures of the deceased as a young and vigorous man in the mortuary chamber also known as serdab. All kinds of offerings that could be useful to the deceased were accumulated therein.
The sculptures were made in the Royal workshops in Memphis. The memorial sculpture was inscribed with the name and social rank of the deceased and his family while the secondary figures were not. The remarkable anthropomorphic realism did not aim for a physical resemblance to the deceased and many of them are similar in face and expression.
On July 10, 2014, Christie's sold for £ 15.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M the statuette of Sekhemka, Inspector of the scribes, 75 cm high. This big piece is in exceptional condition. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The man is sitting in a serene attitude, surrounded by his wife and his favorite son, both mid-scale. All three are named, with their titles. The wife starts a loving gesture. Hieroglyphs are detailing the long list of acceptable offerings.
The attitude of the man is very beautiful, with a serious gaze and the hint of a smile. He holds a partly opened scroll covered with fragile inscriptions that remain in perfect condition. The faces of the cube on which he sits are beautifully carved with offering bearers bringing geese, calves and flowers.
Early Egyptians were cautious. In order to preserve the soul in case of damage to the mummy, they placed several painted limestone figures of the deceased as a young and vigorous man in the mortuary chamber also known as serdab. All kinds of offerings that could be useful to the deceased were accumulated therein.
The sculptures were made in the Royal workshops in Memphis. The memorial sculpture was inscribed with the name and social rank of the deceased and his family while the secondary figures were not. The remarkable anthropomorphic realism did not aim for a physical resemblance to the deceased and many of them are similar in face and expression.
On July 10, 2014, Christie's sold for £ 15.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M the statuette of Sekhemka, Inspector of the scribes, 75 cm high. This big piece is in exceptional condition. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The man is sitting in a serene attitude, surrounded by his wife and his favorite son, both mid-scale. All three are named, with their titles. The wife starts a loving gesture. Hieroglyphs are detailing the long list of acceptable offerings.
The attitude of the man is very beautiful, with a serious gaze and the hint of a smile. He holds a partly opened scroll covered with fragile inscriptions that remain in perfect condition. The faces of the cube on which he sits are beautifully carved with offering bearers bringing geese, calves and flowers.
2400 BCE Cycladic Figure from the Schuster Master
2010 SOLD for $ 17M by Christie's
Prehistory and antiquity have left many works of art. Experts are able to combine certain pieces and assign them to a unique artist, the great master of the art of his time somehow.
4400 years ago, the Schuster Master worked in the Cyclades islands. His marble idols show pregnant women, arms crossed under the chest, body and head beautifully stylized, whose simplicity has influenced the great figurative sculptors of the last century such as Brancusi and Modigliani. Twelve works, nearly all are fragmentary, are attributed to him.
On December 9, 2010, Christie's sold for $ 17M from a lower estimate of $ 3M his masterpiece. The attitude is realistic and flexible, with head slightly tilted back. The body proportions are perfect. This figure 29 cm high in a stunning state of conservation had belonged to the Schuster collection. It is the eponym of the designation of the artist.
4400 years ago, the Schuster Master worked in the Cyclades islands. His marble idols show pregnant women, arms crossed under the chest, body and head beautifully stylized, whose simplicity has influenced the great figurative sculptors of the last century such as Brancusi and Modigliani. Twelve works, nearly all are fragmentary, are attributed to him.
On December 9, 2010, Christie's sold for $ 17M from a lower estimate of $ 3M his masterpiece. The attitude is realistic and flexible, with head slightly tilted back. The body proportions are perfect. This figure 29 cm high in a stunning state of conservation had belonged to the Schuster collection. It is the eponym of the designation of the artist.
879 BCE Nimrud Palace Bas Relief
2018 SOLD for $ 31M by Christie's
Archaeologists wanted to retrieve the lost Assyrian cities mentioned in the Bible. From 1845 Layard releases the ruins of a huge palace near the Tigris river. He believes that he found Nineveh. The palace name of Nimrud refers to a character identified in Genesis as a founder of cities. It will be later identified that the site explored by Layard was the most sumptuous palace of Kalhu which was the capital of the Assyrian empire from 879 BCE to 706 BCE.
Founded by Ashur-nasir-pal II over the ruins of a previous city at the time when the Assyrian empire claimed an ambition for a universal kingdom, Kalhu had been one of the greatest urban planning projects made in antiquity. The annual military campaigns of Ashurnasirpal were very efficient and the vanquished peoples supplied the work force for his constructions.
The 120 x 200 m palace excavated by Layard included many rooms separated from the inner courtyards by mud brick walls. About 400 shallow bas-reliefs in gypsum served as a base for these painted walls.
On July 6, 1994, Christie's sold for £ 7.7M an incomplete 183 x 117 x 6.4 cm bas-relief that had been presented by Layard to one of his sponsors. It displays a beardless eunuch and a winged bearded deity ready to serve the king, and has retained three-quarters of a standard cuneiform inscription recalling the achievements of the king supported by the gods. Layard had been authorized by the Grand Vizier to export his discoveries.
On October 31, 2018, Christie's sold a bas-relief 224 x 196 cm for $ 31M, as lot 101. It is illustrated with a single full size standing figure in Egyptian profile, larger than life and complete. This winged bearded creature is busy anointing a tree of life. The piece includes a standard cuneiform inscription mingled in the image that recalls the achievements of the king supported by the gods.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house. A digital technology enables to reconstruct the original colors, known by traces of pigments on some of the reliefs.
Founded by Ashur-nasir-pal II over the ruins of a previous city at the time when the Assyrian empire claimed an ambition for a universal kingdom, Kalhu had been one of the greatest urban planning projects made in antiquity. The annual military campaigns of Ashurnasirpal were very efficient and the vanquished peoples supplied the work force for his constructions.
The 120 x 200 m palace excavated by Layard included many rooms separated from the inner courtyards by mud brick walls. About 400 shallow bas-reliefs in gypsum served as a base for these painted walls.
On July 6, 1994, Christie's sold for £ 7.7M an incomplete 183 x 117 x 6.4 cm bas-relief that had been presented by Layard to one of his sponsors. It displays a beardless eunuch and a winged bearded deity ready to serve the king, and has retained three-quarters of a standard cuneiform inscription recalling the achievements of the king supported by the gods. Layard had been authorized by the Grand Vizier to export his discoveries.
On October 31, 2018, Christie's sold a bas-relief 224 x 196 cm for $ 31M, as lot 101. It is illustrated with a single full size standing figure in Egyptian profile, larger than life and complete. This winged bearded creature is busy anointing a tree of life. The piece includes a standard cuneiform inscription mingled in the image that recalls the achievements of the king supported by the gods.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house. A digital technology enables to reconstruct the original colors, known by traces of pigments on some of the reliefs.
Major consignment of ancient art: 3000-year-old Assyrian relief expected to raise over $10m at @ChristiesInc:https://t.co/0GZH2NTC1I pic.twitter.com/cGVQqtW7yk
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) September 17, 2018
masterpiece
40 BCE, discovered 1506
Laocoon
Vatican
The image is shared by Wikimedia with attribution Vatican Museums, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Artemis and the Stag
2007 SOLD for $ 28.6 M by Sotheby's
Artemis and the stag, which could also have been named Diana and the fawn, is a bronze group of Hellenistic inspiration without equivalent for its state of conservation and the delicacy of its carving. It is 124 cm high overall including the base which is original. As always with the ancient bronze groups, this statue is made up of elements assembled by joints.
This statue was found by chance in Rome around 1930 on a construction site near St John Lateran. It had probably decorated a private hall or garden during the transition period between the Republic and the Empire.
Some of its iconographic details are of the greatest rarity. The goddess is adolescent. The gesture of the arm shows that she has just sent away an arrow with a bow that is missing. The deer at her side is her pet, peacefully standing on its four legs. It is small, 43 cm high compared to the 92 cm of the goddess. On the other side of Artemis, there was some place for another animal, perhaps a hound.
This bronze was in permanent exhibition at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, which deaccessioned it to refocus on modern art. It thus shares with the Guennol lioness the characteristic of having been much loved by the public for many years before its auction.
Artemis and the stag was sold for $ 28.6M by Sotheby's on June 7, 2007, lot 41, a record at that time for any sculpture at auction. It was bought at that sale by Giuseppe Eskenazi, acting for a private collector who made a long time loan of it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The image shared by Wikimedia with attribution Ana Carina Lauriano ╰★╮ / CC BY features this group displayed at the Met.
This statue was found by chance in Rome around 1930 on a construction site near St John Lateran. It had probably decorated a private hall or garden during the transition period between the Republic and the Empire.
Some of its iconographic details are of the greatest rarity. The goddess is adolescent. The gesture of the arm shows that she has just sent away an arrow with a bow that is missing. The deer at her side is her pet, peacefully standing on its four legs. It is small, 43 cm high compared to the 92 cm of the goddess. On the other side of Artemis, there was some place for another animal, perhaps a hound.
This bronze was in permanent exhibition at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, which deaccessioned it to refocus on modern art. It thus shares with the Guennol lioness the characteristic of having been much loved by the public for many years before its auction.
Artemis and the stag was sold for $ 28.6M by Sotheby's on June 7, 2007, lot 41, a record at that time for any sculpture at auction. It was bought at that sale by Giuseppe Eskenazi, acting for a private collector who made a long time loan of it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The image shared by Wikimedia with attribution Ana Carina Lauriano ╰★╮ / CC BY features this group displayed at the Met.
133-138 Bust of Antinous
2010 SOLD for $ 24M by Sotheby's
With Trajan, the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extension. By consolidating the fragile borders, Hadrian extended the pax romana for half a century. There was no chronicler during his reign but his journeys have been reasonably retraced.
Around the Mediterranean sea, Hadrian shows himself passionately Philhellene, which is politically clever since it is necessary to avoid the eternal rivalries between the Greek cities. He was in Athens in 129 CE and in Egypt in 130.
A Bithynian about 20 years old, whose physical beauty matched the canon of Dionysus, was part of the emperor's suite. His biography contains no verifiable element : in fact he was more useful dead than alive. His drowning in the Nile reminds the epic legend of Osiris. His name was Antinous. The emperor deified him by imperial decree and multiplied the posthumous honors.
The emperor is powerful and the courtiers are numerous. The iconography of Antinous-Dionysus-Osiris takes on an unprecedented scale, which will cease to be useful after Hadrian's death in 138 CE.
A larger than life marble bust, 84 cm high including the base, was discovered in the 19th century in Banias, on the Golan Heights. It was inscribed in Greek by the dedicatee, belonging to a Roman patrician family : "from M. Lucius Flaccus to the god Antinous". Such a signature is unique in the iconography of Antinous.
In 133 and 134 Hadrian led a very deadly war in the Judaea raised by Bar Kokhba. Banias, romanized as Caesarea Philippi, had a long pagan tradition which justified an ostensible support to the emperor.
The bust is incomplete : the arms are missing, a shoulder is detached and the nose is broken. Despite this condition, it was sold for $ 24M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2010 from a lower estimate of $ 2M, lot 9.
Around the Mediterranean sea, Hadrian shows himself passionately Philhellene, which is politically clever since it is necessary to avoid the eternal rivalries between the Greek cities. He was in Athens in 129 CE and in Egypt in 130.
A Bithynian about 20 years old, whose physical beauty matched the canon of Dionysus, was part of the emperor's suite. His biography contains no verifiable element : in fact he was more useful dead than alive. His drowning in the Nile reminds the epic legend of Osiris. His name was Antinous. The emperor deified him by imperial decree and multiplied the posthumous honors.
The emperor is powerful and the courtiers are numerous. The iconography of Antinous-Dionysus-Osiris takes on an unprecedented scale, which will cease to be useful after Hadrian's death in 138 CE.
A larger than life marble bust, 84 cm high including the base, was discovered in the 19th century in Banias, on the Golan Heights. It was inscribed in Greek by the dedicatee, belonging to a Roman patrician family : "from M. Lucius Flaccus to the god Antinous". Such a signature is unique in the iconography of Antinous.
In 133 and 134 Hadrian led a very deadly war in the Judaea raised by Bar Kokhba. Banias, romanized as Caesarea Philippi, had a long pagan tradition which justified an ostensible support to the emperor.
The bust is incomplete : the arms are missing, a shoulder is detached and the nose is broken. Despite this condition, it was sold for $ 24M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2010 from a lower estimate of $ 2M, lot 9.
Roman Venus of Capitoline Type
2021 SOLD for £ 18.6M by Sotheby's
The Aphrodite of Knidos is one of the most important art works in history. Made by Praxiteles from the super-beauty Phryne, it was the first life size sculpture of full female nudity in Greek art at a time when full nude heroic males were common.
The goddess of love is featured standing with one leg very slightly bent, in modesty with a hand hiding the sex. The other arm is posed over a vase thrown with drapery upon it, raised here for assuring the stability of the heavy marble but also forwarding the idea of the preparation for a ritual bath.
The original marble was destroyed in a fire in 475 CE. The figure was highly popular and led to two Roman variants of the Venus pudica with sex and breast covered by the hands. They are known as the Venus de' Medici and the Capitoline Venus.
A Roman Imperial marble example of the Capitoline Venus was sold in Rome in 1776 by the art dealer Gavin Hamilton to the 8th Duke of Hamilton who was making his Grand Tour. While looking for customers in the previous year, Gavin Hamilton commented possibly wrongly that the head is not its own and rightly that the vase and its drapery are not antique.
The Hamilton Venus resided in Hamilton Palace in Lanarkshire for nearly 150 years and in the collection of William Randolph Hearst from 1920 to 1940. It went out of view in a private collection after an auction in 1949.
It has just resurfaced and was sold for £ 18.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2021, lot 70. Some 18th century restorations are listed in the catalogue. The original marble plinth is now resting on a wooden base for a total height of 197 cm.
The goddess of love is featured standing with one leg very slightly bent, in modesty with a hand hiding the sex. The other arm is posed over a vase thrown with drapery upon it, raised here for assuring the stability of the heavy marble but also forwarding the idea of the preparation for a ritual bath.
The original marble was destroyed in a fire in 475 CE. The figure was highly popular and led to two Roman variants of the Venus pudica with sex and breast covered by the hands. They are known as the Venus de' Medici and the Capitoline Venus.
A Roman Imperial marble example of the Capitoline Venus was sold in Rome in 1776 by the art dealer Gavin Hamilton to the 8th Duke of Hamilton who was making his Grand Tour. While looking for customers in the previous year, Gavin Hamilton commented possibly wrongly that the head is not its own and rightly that the vase and its drapery are not antique.
The Hamilton Venus resided in Hamilton Palace in Lanarkshire for nearly 150 years and in the collection of William Randolph Hearst from 1920 to 1940. It went out of view in a private collection after an auction in 1949.
It has just resurfaced and was sold for £ 18.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2021, lot 70. Some 18th century restorations are listed in the catalogue. The original marble plinth is now resting on a wooden base for a total height of 197 cm.
The Pala Prince
2017 SOLD for $ 24.7M by Christie's
The dynasty which reigned through four centuries over Bengal and Bihar is identified as Pala, a suffix meaning "protector" that was added to the personal name of each monarch.
Three religions cohabitated : Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They shared a same preoccupation of regulating the communication between the divine and the mortal. In Buddhism this function is assured by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
On March 14, 2017, Christie's sold as lot 233 for $ 24.7M a statue realized in the later phase of the Pala period around 900 years ago.
The young man sits on a thick lotus, one leg bent and the other hanging. This figure is carved in a black stone similar to a schist which was widely used in the Pala steles and whose hardness enables a great sharpness of sculpture.
He necessarily has all the qualities. The spectacular dynamism of the attitude appeals to dialogue with the faithful. He is a prince elegantly dressed with a profusion of pectoral jewels chiseled in the stone but he also is an ascetic recognizable by his braided hair. His belonging to Buddhism is identified by Amitabha hidden in a fold of the tiara : he is altogether Avalokiteshvara, the all-seeing lord, and Lokanatha, the savior of the world.
The character is life-size in this 148 cm high statue. Such characteristics unusual in Buddhist art suggests that it was the main devotional figure in a temple specially dedicated to Avalokiteshvara.
It was from 1922 an important piece in the collection of Indian art of the Boston Museum before being de-accessionned in 1935 for a trade with another statue of the same culture. The arms and nose were missing. The nose was later rebuilt.
Three religions cohabitated : Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They shared a same preoccupation of regulating the communication between the divine and the mortal. In Buddhism this function is assured by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
On March 14, 2017, Christie's sold as lot 233 for $ 24.7M a statue realized in the later phase of the Pala period around 900 years ago.
The young man sits on a thick lotus, one leg bent and the other hanging. This figure is carved in a black stone similar to a schist which was widely used in the Pala steles and whose hardness enables a great sharpness of sculpture.
He necessarily has all the qualities. The spectacular dynamism of the attitude appeals to dialogue with the faithful. He is a prince elegantly dressed with a profusion of pectoral jewels chiseled in the stone but he also is an ascetic recognizable by his braided hair. His belonging to Buddhism is identified by Amitabha hidden in a fold of the tiara : he is altogether Avalokiteshvara, the all-seeing lord, and Lokanatha, the savior of the world.
The character is life-size in this 148 cm high statue. Such characteristics unusual in Buddhist art suggests that it was the main devotional figure in a temple specially dedicated to Avalokiteshvara.
It was from 1922 an important piece in the collection of Indian art of the Boston Museum before being de-accessionned in 1935 for a trade with another statue of the same culture. The arms and nose were missing. The nose was later rebuilt.
#AsianArtWeek : du 14 au 17 mars @ChristiesInc organise une série de ventes consacrées à l’art d’Asie https://t.co/RTGNrQolil pic.twitter.com/ampK2u6qRS
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) March 13, 2017
Gilt Bronze of Shakyamuni Buddha
2013 SOLD for HK$ 236M by Sotheby's
Yongle, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is one of the most remarkable of all the emperors of China. A formidable autocrat and an uncompromising military, he was however a protector of all cultural trends and all religions of China.
At the beginning of his reign, 600 years ago, his sympathy for Buddhism is clearly stated. Relying on a meeting with an important Tibetan scholar, it is accompanied by the announcement of miracles.
Nothing is simple with the Yongle emperor. His personal preference went certainly to Confucianism, and such a pro-Buddhist movement could be a strategy to reduce the influence of the Yuan.
The gilt bronze Buddhist figures reach their supreme refinement during the reign of Yongle. The perfection of expressions and attitudes is worthy of the purity of Buddha. The thick double lotus base allows him to dominate his audience while retaining a seated pose.
The massive statues reach a perfection of casting, form, proportions and aesthetic grace. They are more frequent in the Yongle reign due to his policy of imperial export and presentation of Buddhist sculptures to Tibet which was discontinued by the Xuande emperor. They are very rare in large size.
On October 8, 2013, Sotheby's sold for HK $ 236M from a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a statue 55 cm high with the mark of Yongle, lot 3075. The absence of color traces goes against the Tibetan tradition and suggests that this Buddha was designed for the use of the imperial court.
Seated on a double lotus, Shakyamuni Buddha displays an attitude of complete serenity. His eyelids are closed despite the temptation from the demons in the last events preceding his enlightenment. A hand towards the ground shows that he does not forget the realities.
A 72 cm high meticulously cast gilt bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha with the mark of Yongle was sold for HK $ 117M by Sotheby's on October 7, 2006, lot 808 in the sale of the Speelman collection.
The figure depicts the Enlightened One in his typical pose with his right hand touching the earth, similarly as the 55 cm high example sold for HK $ 236M by Sotheby's in 2013. The throne base is multilayered and the back panel is pierced.
Larger than the usual altar pieces, this statue bearing the mark of the Yongle emperor was certainly made in the imperial workshops for an official commission, possibly with the help of Nepalese artisans.
Buddha is omnipotent. He plays all the roles to lead the faithful on his way. His most popular figures are Shakyamuni, reminiscent of his historical preaching, and Amitabha who invites the souls on the way to paradise. The Buddha healer of the bodies, Bhaishajyaguru, is more rare.
On March 20, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 5.5M a Bhaishajyaguru 28 cm high with the Yongle imperial mark. Smiling but a little stiff in his role as a teacher, this Medicine Buddha offers the myrobalan, an obsolete wording naming the dried fruit for pharmaceutical use. In one hand he carries a pot. To display his symbol, he takes with elegance a single fruit between thumb and index fingers of the other hand.
A 57 cm high figure of Amitayus with the Xuande mark was sold for HK $ 70M by Christie's on May 31, 2010, lot 1961. Amitayus is the Buddha of infinite life. The serene deity is seated on a lotus base. The legs are crossed. The hands are joined over the lap with raised thumbs as a sign of meditation, the rounded face with eyes downcast is benevolent. His majesty is represented by the eight leaf crown and the abundant jewel chains radiating on the bare torso. Exquisite details include the hair swept back in a topknot.
This period of magnificent Buddhist art terminates in 1436 CE when overpopulating monks are expelled from the capital by a new emperor.
At the beginning of his reign, 600 years ago, his sympathy for Buddhism is clearly stated. Relying on a meeting with an important Tibetan scholar, it is accompanied by the announcement of miracles.
Nothing is simple with the Yongle emperor. His personal preference went certainly to Confucianism, and such a pro-Buddhist movement could be a strategy to reduce the influence of the Yuan.
The gilt bronze Buddhist figures reach their supreme refinement during the reign of Yongle. The perfection of expressions and attitudes is worthy of the purity of Buddha. The thick double lotus base allows him to dominate his audience while retaining a seated pose.
The massive statues reach a perfection of casting, form, proportions and aesthetic grace. They are more frequent in the Yongle reign due to his policy of imperial export and presentation of Buddhist sculptures to Tibet which was discontinued by the Xuande emperor. They are very rare in large size.
On October 8, 2013, Sotheby's sold for HK $ 236M from a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a statue 55 cm high with the mark of Yongle, lot 3075. The absence of color traces goes against the Tibetan tradition and suggests that this Buddha was designed for the use of the imperial court.
Seated on a double lotus, Shakyamuni Buddha displays an attitude of complete serenity. His eyelids are closed despite the temptation from the demons in the last events preceding his enlightenment. A hand towards the ground shows that he does not forget the realities.
A 72 cm high meticulously cast gilt bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha with the mark of Yongle was sold for HK $ 117M by Sotheby's on October 7, 2006, lot 808 in the sale of the Speelman collection.
The figure depicts the Enlightened One in his typical pose with his right hand touching the earth, similarly as the 55 cm high example sold for HK $ 236M by Sotheby's in 2013. The throne base is multilayered and the back panel is pierced.
Larger than the usual altar pieces, this statue bearing the mark of the Yongle emperor was certainly made in the imperial workshops for an official commission, possibly with the help of Nepalese artisans.
Buddha is omnipotent. He plays all the roles to lead the faithful on his way. His most popular figures are Shakyamuni, reminiscent of his historical preaching, and Amitabha who invites the souls on the way to paradise. The Buddha healer of the bodies, Bhaishajyaguru, is more rare.
On March 20, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 5.5M a Bhaishajyaguru 28 cm high with the Yongle imperial mark. Smiling but a little stiff in his role as a teacher, this Medicine Buddha offers the myrobalan, an obsolete wording naming the dried fruit for pharmaceutical use. In one hand he carries a pot. To display his symbol, he takes with elegance a single fruit between thumb and index fingers of the other hand.
A 57 cm high figure of Amitayus with the Xuande mark was sold for HK $ 70M by Christie's on May 31, 2010, lot 1961. Amitayus is the Buddha of infinite life. The serene deity is seated on a lotus base. The legs are crossed. The hands are joined over the lap with raised thumbs as a sign of meditation, the rounded face with eyes downcast is benevolent. His majesty is represented by the eight leaf crown and the abundant jewel chains radiating on the bare torso. Exquisite details include the hair swept back in a topknot.
This period of magnificent Buddhist art terminates in 1436 CE when overpopulating monks are expelled from the capital by a new emperor.
1626 fountain by de Vries
2014 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
Influenced by Giambologna, Adriaen De Vries was spreading the new fashion for mannerism. Their bronzes give life to muscular bodies twisted in expressive attitudes inspired by antiquity, and which will be much later admired by Rodin. De Vries is famous for his statues for gardens and fountains. Working in Prague for the Emperor Rudolf II, he remained in that city after the death of his patron and accepted private commissions.
During a routine visit to a castle in 2010, the expert from Christie's takes a look at the fountain in the middle of the yard. Thus a previously unrecorded masterpiece enters the art history.
The bronze 109 cm high adorning the top of the fountain had been in that place for at least 300 years. It is signed by Adriaen de Vries and dated 1626, the year of the artist's death. The theme is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 10.
On December 7, 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8M a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
During a routine visit to a castle in 2010, the expert from Christie's takes a look at the fountain in the middle of the yard. Thus a previously unrecorded masterpiece enters the art history.
The bronze 109 cm high adorning the top of the fountain had been in that place for at least 300 years. It is signed by Adriaen de Vries and dated 1626, the year of the artist's death. The theme is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 10.
On December 7, 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8M a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
