A rare carved wood head of Guanyin


Yuan/early Ming Dynasty The face well carved with a serene meditative expression defined by downcast eyes beneath arched brows, the full cheeks flanking a bud mouth above a dimpled chin, the hair neatly arranged in an elaborate chignon secured by a foliate crown with a gilt figure of Amitabha Buddha at the centre seated on a lotus pedestal. 36cm (14 1/8in) high.
|The Property of a Gentleman 紳士藏品元/明早期 木雕觀音菩薩頭像Provenance: Sotheby's London, 9 June 1987, lot 37Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 1995 Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection來源：1987年6月9日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品37號布魯塞爾古董商吉賽爾藝廊，1995年歐宗易先生珍藏The bodhisattva Guanyin, whose name in Sanskrit is Avalokiteshvara, is an important figure in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Venerated in Indian Buddhism as the embodiment of the Compassion of the Buddha, the deity was incorporated into Chinese beliefs concerning the rebirth in the Pure Land of Amithaba from at least the 1st-2nd century AD. With the rise of the Pure Land School from the 7th century, the deity became one of the most prominent figures in the Chinese Buddhist pantheon. In this context, Guanyin effected the spiritual rebirth of Buddhist devotees in 'the blissful land', the ideal atmosphere leading to peaceful nurturing and enlightenment.Beginning from the 12th century, the deity began to be associated with a female manifestation and became extremely popular as the 'Goddess of Mercy' in the succeeding centuries. Life-size wood figures of Guanyin, dating from the 10th to the 14th century, were typically made for Buddhist temples constructed in the areas of Taiyuan and Wutai Shan, in Shanxi Province, the two pre-eminent centres of Buddhist activity in China. These figures were often carved standing as plinths, referencing Guanyin residing at Mount Potalaka on the southern coast of India, an idea drawn from the 'Flower Garland Sutra', which was introduced into China during the 5th century.Related wood figures of Guanyin, displaying delicate facial features and dating to the Yuan/ early Ming period, can be seen in the Zhenguo and the Shuanglin Temples, in Shanxi Province, illustrated by The Research Institute of the Buddhism Culture of China, Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, Hong Kong, 1991, pls.11, 15, 18 and 172-180. A wood figure of Guanyin, Ming dynasty, in the Columbia Museum of Art, displays a similar oval face and hair arrangement to the present head. A wood figure of Guanyin with related facial features to the present lot was sold at Christie's London, 10 May 2016, lot 25.觀音髮髻高聳，頭戴化佛寶冠，開臉祥和，下顎略收，木胎之上尚餘髹漆之灰底。觀音菩薩，為大乘佛教四大菩薩之一。公元一至二世紀，觀音菩薩此一形象逐漸融入中土信仰；而當七世紀淨土宗開始崛起之時，觀音菩薩成為佛教主要神祗，受民間普遍敬仰崇拜。山西振國寺及雙林寺藏有相關的木雕觀音像，展示典型元/明初雕塑的輪廓，載於《Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province（山西省佛教塑像）》，香港，1991年，圖11、15、18、172至180。美國哥倫比亞藝術博物館亦藏有一例，臉部呈典型鵝蛋形，而髮髻形狀亦有所雷同。倫敦佳士得亦曾於2016年5月10日拍賣一件相關木雕觀音像，拍品25號。