Name: Auction: SUPERB GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI YONGLE INCISED MARK AND OF THE PERIOD
Brand: Lyon & Turnbull
Price: 349040 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

Chinese Works of Art

Sale number: 464A 600 year old china Ming cup, valued at £2m and sold for £3.6 million, was offered in Hong Kong on 31 May 2016. The Stem Cup, which dates back to about 1425, was valued in excess of £2 million and was the star lot of a specially curated sale of Chinese Works of Art, co-produced with our sister company Freeman's of Philadelphia, America's oldest auction house. The sale previewed in America, first at Freeman’s from 10 - 11 March, then in New York at Carlton Hobbs Gallery from 14 - 16 March during Asia Week New York.From there, the piece was exhibited during <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.asiaarthongkong.com/">Asia Week Hong Kong</a> on the 28th, 29th, 30th May, before the sale on the 31st May 2016.Lee Young, Head of Asian Art,&nbsp;<blockquote>“The Ming Xuande (1426 - 35) mark and period blue and white Stem Cup is a rare masterpiece and, of its type, is virtually unseen outside museum collections. The motif of flying dragons was popular in the Yuan dynasty, but was revived in the Xuande dynasty as can be seen in this case. The fearsome five - clawed dragon flies amongst flames, chasing the eternally flaming pearl, above a sea with crashing waves tipped in white, with rocks seen around the base.”</blockquote>The Stem Cup was the most valuable of 270 items bequeathed to the Staffordshire University by Mr Ernest Thornhill in 1944, having originally been sent there during wartime to safeguard the collection. Upon rediscovering the collection, which has been hidden away in storage for a significant number of years, the University appointed Lyon &amp; Turnbull to sell the Stem Cup so that it can raise funds to build a permanent new home for the remainder of the collection at its Stoke-on-Trent campus. This resource centre allows student access to the collection for their study, complying with the original bequest and wishes of Mr Thornhill.Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, Rosy Crehan, and Lee Young agree:&nbsp;<blockquote>"Whilst to some it may seem unfortunate to have to sell one item from a collection, this is simply being done for the greater benefit of University students, and indeed the wider public. The funds raised will finally allow the remaining 269 pieces to be curated, conserved and enjoyed in a facility that will attract a broader audience to Staffordshire, complementing what is, the heart of the British ceramics industry. An appropriate tribute to the Stem Cup will feature in this display.”</blockquote>Ernest Thornhill was a pharmacist from London who collected Oriental ceramics. He donated several pieces to the British Museum as well as the then North Staffordshire Technical College, which later became Staffordshire University in 1992.

Diego

Grace Tu | Lyon & Turnbull Asian Art Auction Specialist

Asian Art Auction House: Chinese & Oriental Antiques

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the bodhisattva finely cast seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base, his raised right arm holding a vajra and the other held up in tarjani mudra, wearing a long flowing dhoti tied at waist and gathered in folds around his feet, the slightly tilted face in a serene expression with downcast eyes and smiling lips, framed by an elaborate diadem, the front of the base incised with a six-character mark reading 'Da Ming Yong Le Nian Shi' (bestowed in the Great Ming Yongle period), the base plate incised with a double vajra with remains of red lacquer

SUPERB GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI

YONGLE INCISED MARK AND OF THE PERIOD

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