A BRONZE SEATED FIGURE OF AN ASCETIC SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA YUAN DYNASTY

the ascetic Buddha seated his left leg crossing over the right, his hands and chin resting on his left raised knee, dressed in a loosely fastened dhoti partly falling from his shoulder, revealing his bare emaciated torso and spine, gazing downwards with a gentle expression, his tonsured head wreathed with curling hairs, the metal richly patinated to a greyish-brown colour with patches of malachite encrustation, black perspex fitted base

Christie's London, 9th July 1979, lot 31.  
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29/30th April 1997, lot 723.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York, September 2002.

Overall in good condition with some original casting faults and wear consistent with age. There is an old 2.2 cm repaired hole on the top of his back which is plugged with bronze.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present finely modelled figure depicts Shakyamuni Buddha during his long fast under the Bodhi tree, where he sat until he discovered the true nature of existence and suffering and realized how suffering can be ended. His meditation ultimately helped him to attain his enlightenment. It was in the Yuan dynasty that the modelling of Buddha in this manner became popular and a convention in Chinese art. However, according to Sherman Lee and Wai-kam Ho in Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), 1968,  p. 124, 'the prototype could be traced back at least to Kuan-hsiu's Sixteen Arhats of the Five Dynasties period, or Buddhist paintings of the ninth and tenth centuries showing hermits and the familiar figure of Vasu in Tun-huang and Central Asia.'

For a related figure of Buddha see a lacquer example with traces of colour and gold, in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, illustrated ibid., pl. 20, together with an unusually large gilt-bronze example in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, pl. 18, and a third sculpture made in dry-lacquer in the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, pl. 19.
 
Compare also a lacquered gilt-bronze Shakyamuni figure, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, cat. no. 292, from the Sedgwick collection, sold in these rooms, 2nd July 1968, lot 37; and another example sold in our London rooms, 27th November 1973, lot 40.