Solemnity

LOT 49 | GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA | MING DYNASTY, YONGLE MARK

明 大明永樂年施刻款 銅鎏金佛座像 | 21.5cm high; 2158g | £15,000 - £20,000 + fees

View Lot 49 ⇒

Our curated selection, entitled Solemnity, in our forthcoming Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art auction includes a selection of religious figures focusing on two thousand years of Asian art, juxtaposing Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhist, Daoist, and Hindu traditions. This section starts with an early Buddhist sculpture, a rare Western Himalayan cast copper alloy figure of Shakyamuni (lot 44) from the Swat Valley. Then moving geographically eastwards and chronologically forward, we present you a series of Eastern Himalayan and Chinese sculptures, celebrating a multitude of materials and artisanship, including cast gilt, lacquered bronze, and carved wooden divine figures from the Song (960-1279) to Qing Dynasties (1644-1912) (lot 45-52).

LOT 44 | COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHAKYAMUNI | SWAT VALLEY, 8TH CENTURY

八世紀 斯瓦特 銅鑄釋迦摩尼佛座像 | 15.5cm high; 896g | £10,000 - £15,000 + fees

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Painted works are also crucial within Asian religious art. Featuring here are a pair of stucco fresco panels of important Daoist goddess, Xiwangmu- Queen Mother of the West, dated to the Ming Dynasty. These panels would possibly been part of the wall of a temple (lot 53). Moving from Daoist to Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, from China to Tibet, we have two thangkas in this section (lot 54-55) and gilt bronze figures (lot 56-58).

LOT 53 | PAIR OF STUCCO FRESCO PANELS WITH FEMALE DEITIES | MING DYNASTY

明 彩繪西王母圖壁畫（兩幅）| 80cm x 45cm each | £8,000 - £12,000 + fees

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Solemnity also features a number of comparatively unusual materials depicting divine iconographies, including jade and soapstone carvings, ranging from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic Period (lot 59-62). Worth mentioning is a Japanese grey stone stele of Nyoirin Kanon, Edo Period (lot 63), from the collection of the renowned late businessman Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham (1865-1952). Lot 64 is the only porcelain figure, depicting Cundi Bodhisattva the pearly white Blanc De Chine glaze reflects the divinity and purity of a religious figure.

LOT 63 | GREY STONE STELE OF NYOIRIN KANNON | EDO PERIOD, DATED 1708AD

江戸 ‘理照妙諦信士 寳永五（戊子）年霜月四日 中沢氏’刻文 如意輪観音石碑 | 93cm high | £1,000 - £1,500 + fees

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Ending this section, we move across to India. Representing Hindu art is lot 65, a red sandstone head of Vishnu, dated to ca. 6 century. The above gives us an overview of religious figures across Asia, a series of beautiful and important works that all share the same sacred and artistic language - solemnity.

LOT 65 | RED SANDSTONE HEAD OF VISHNU | INDIA, GUPTA PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH CENTURY

印度 笈多王朝 紅砂岩雕濕婆神頭像 | 20cm high | £600 - £800 + fees

View Lot 65 ⇒

Auction Information

Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art

Friday 13 May 2022 at 10am

Live Online

View the auction catalogue ⇒

Viewing at 22 Connaught St, London from Sunday 8th to Thursday 12th May, 10am-5pm each day.

SPEAK TO A SPECIALIST

GRACE TU | HEAD OF ASIAN ART

0207 930 9115

grace.tu@lyonandturnbull.com