A BRONZE FIGURE OF A BUDDHA, CHINA, FIVE DYNASTIES - NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY (907-1126)

Expert’s note:
The closely related buddha, listed below in the auction result comparison and published in Saburo Matsubara’s book Chogoku Bukkyo Chokokushi Kenkyu (History Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), Tokyo, 1961, holds unique similarities to the present figure. For one, the hair of both Buddha curl in an identical manner around the central ushnisha, which is slightly recessed. The robes also are configured similarly, tied at the waist in a similar pattern and folding below the feet in a near identical fashion.
This comparison places the present figure firmly within the 10th century.


Finely cast seated in dhyanasana, his left hand raised in a rare mudra with the ring finger bent and the others extended, his right hand resting on his knee. He is wearing loose-fitting robes opening at the chest. His serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below arched brows as well as full lips flanked by long pendulous earlobes. His hair arranged in deeply incised wavy locks over the high ushnisha.


Provenance:
From the private collection of Michael Phillips, acquired through the Japanese trade. Michael Phillips (born 1943) is an Academy Award-winning film producer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, his parents were Lawrence and Shirley Phillips, noted New York dealers in Asian fine art, selling to the Met, the LACMA, the Chicago Art Institute, and the British Museum among others. Michael Phillips is a collector of Asian art himself, particularly Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan sculpture. His most important films include The Sting (winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1973), Taxi Driver (winning the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival), and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Condition:
Very good condition, commensurate with age, showing expected old wear overall. Signs of weathering and erosion, remnants of gilding, small nicks here and there. The naturally grown dark patina with cuprite and malachite encrustations. Aureole and lotus base (see auction result comparison below) are lost.

Weight: 185 g
Dimensions: 8.2 cm


This figure may belong to a group of Buddhist votive figures produced in Zhejiang
during the Wuyue kingdom (AD 907-978), four of which are illustrated in Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections, vol. 6, Beijing, 2005, pls. 1234-37: one in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Japan (pl. 1234); two in the Harvard University Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, (pls. 1235 and 1236); and one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, pl. 1237; all dated to the 10th century. Of these four, only the figure in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum represents Buddha, while the other three represent bodhisattvas. All of these figures, including the present lot, have similar, distinctive facial features.

The bodhisattva in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is also illustrated by D. Leidy and D. Strahan in Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, p. 110-12, no. 22, where the authors ascribe the figure to Zhejiang province, which during the 10th century was the center of the Wuyue kingdom (AD 907-978). They note that the "kingdom was ruled by members of the Qian family, noted for their devotion to Buddhism and their patronage of the arts".


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 14 September 2017, lot 838
Price: USD 468,500 or approx.
EUR 534,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare bronze seated figure of Buddha, Five Dynasties-Northern Song dynasty (AD 907-1126), 10th century
Expert remark: Note the closely related buddha figure, retaining its original aureole and lotus pedestal, which are both missing on the present lot. Note the total size (16.8 cm).

13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer’s premium – only for buyers within the EU.




五代至北宋佛陀銅像


佛陀左手舉起，無名指彎曲，其他手指伸展，右手放在膝蓋上。 他穿著敞胸的長袍。他面容平靜，慈眉善目，雙眉舒展，目光微垂，嘴唇豐滿，長耳垂，髮髻高束。


專家注釋
：
拍賣結果比較中列出的相似造像，發表於松原三郎所著的《中國佛教造像史》一書中，東京，1961年。 其一，兩尊佛陀的髮式相同；其二，可比較長袍的構造。通過細節比較，
當前的拍品應爲十世紀無疑
。


來源
：
Michael Phillips 收藏。Michael Phillips (出生於1943年) 是一位電影製片人，曾獲得奧斯卡獎。他出生在紐約布魯克林，父母是Lawrence 與Shirley Phillips，他們是著名的紐約亞洲美術經銷商，向大都會博物館、洛杉磯美術館、芝加哥藝術學院和大英博物館等機構出售藝術品。Michael Phillips本人是亞洲藝術收藏家，尤其是印度、東南亞和喜馬拉雅地區造像。他最重要的電影包括《刺激》（1973 年獲得奧斯卡最佳影片獎）、《出租車司機》（1976 年戛納電影節金棕櫚獎）和史蒂文·斯皮爾伯格的《第三類接觸》。

品相
：
狀況極好，有磨損、風化和侵蝕的痕跡，鎏金殘留，大面積有小刻痕。自然包漿呈深色，帶有紅綠色結殼。光背與蓮花底座（見下面拍賣結果比較）丟失。

重量：185 克
尺寸：8.2 厘米


此尊可能屬於吳越時期
（西元907-978年）浙江所造的一批佛教還願像，見《中國流失海外佛教造像總合圖目》中收錄了四尊佛像，卷 6，北京，2005年，圖1234-37：一件藏於日本聖嘉堂文庫美術館（圖版 1234），兩件藏於哈佛大學藝術博物館、劍橋阿瑟 M. 薩克勒博物館（請參閱 1235 和 1236）； 一件藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館，圖1237; 所有這些都可以追溯到十世紀。這四尊中，只有聖嘉堂文庫美術館的為佛陀，其他三尊為菩薩。 所有這些造像，包括本拍品，都具有相似且獨特的面部特徵。

大都會藝術博物館內的菩薩也由 D. Leidy 和 D. Strahan 收錄於《Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art》中，紐約，2010 年，第 110-12頁，圖22。作者將這件造像歸於浙江省，該省在十世紀是吳越王國（西元 907-978 年）的中心。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2017年9月14日，lot 838
價格：USD 468,500（相當於今日
EUR 534,000
）
描述：五代至北宋十世紀坐佛銅像
專家評論：請注意非常相近的佛像、留存有原有的光環和蓮花座。請注意尺寸 (16.8 釐米)。