A MONUMENTAL AND EXTREMELY RARE LACQUERED COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA GUANYIN DALI KINGDOM, 13TH CENTURY

powerfully cast in the form of the bodhisattva depicted seated with legs crossed in padmasana with lowered right hand and raised left hand in varada mudra, the elegant slender body gently curving with naturalistic flourish, adorned in a long flowing shawl covering the shoulders with sash-ends loosely fastened across the chest, a long undergarment extending down the lower body to the ankle, the chest and lower body decorated with sumptuous necklaces and chains, the face of elongated oval form bearing a serene, contemplative expression of relaxed detachment, with subtly outlined eyes cast downward and lips closed, wearing an elaborate five-leaf crown (rgs linga), together with a separately cast lotus base crisply cast with multiple layers of petals, lacquered overall in cinnabar-red and rich gilding and a late Ming dynasty pedestal of cantilever design surrounded by balustrades, boldly cast with two extraordinary kneeling caryatides and four Indian-form pillars flanking a pierced dragon panel

Collection of Ernest Napoleon Marie Godeaux (1833-1905), French Consul General in Shanghai, 1872-75.
By descent to Marie-Claude Jallu (1923-93), Mougins.
 

The figure has been preserved overall in good condition. As visible in the catalogue photo, there is rubbing to the gilding, flaking to the lacquer and losses to the inlays on the figure. Losses to the crown. Dents and bruises to the fragile exteriors. General oxidation.
"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."

During the late 1970s, excavations at the Qianxun Pagoda, Yunnan province, sculpture in gold, silver, gilt bronze, bronze and wood were discovered including works that are comparable to the present Guanyin. The Dali Kingdom (937-1253) in the Yunnan province of southern China, close to the borders of Burma and the eastern reaches of the Himalayas, was an outpost of Buddhism when other regions of China during the Song dynasty (960-1279) were turning away from the religion. Dali sculpture discovered at Qianxun Pagoda is distinctive and is defined by idiosyncratic jewelry design and physiognomy, and highlights the varied inspirations for the sculpture of the region. The necklace and jewelled girdle design of the Guanyin is related to that seen on a twelfth century seated bronze bodhisattva excavated at the pagoda, and now in the Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, illustrated in Albert Lutz, Der Goldschatz Der Drei Pagoden, Museum Rietberg Zurich, 1991, p. 179, cat. no. 53. Compare the string of jewels draped across the body and resting on the lower legs and knees, the scarf with an upturned flourish at its ends. The more elaborate treatment of the crown and jewellery would suggest a later date than the Qianxun example, but the essential sculptural tenets remain and the statue is thus likely to date to the latter days of the Dali Kingdom in the thirteenth century.

Scholarship is relatively recent in the field of Dali and Yunnanese sculpture. In a 1944 publication, the American scholar Helen Chapin identified a group of bronzes in western collections as being of Yunnanese origin, based on their similarity to a standing Guanyin depicted in a painting known as the 'Long Scroll of Buddhist Images' by the 12th century Yunnanese artist Zhang Shengwen, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ibid, p. 190, no. 93. The restoration work undertaken on the Qianxun Pagoda uncovered a reliquary deposit that included standing Guanyin sculptures similar in style to the figure depicted on the scroll, including the gold and silver examples now in the Yunnan Province Museum, ibid., p. 183, cat. no. 56 for example, identical in form and iconography to bronze and gilt bronze examples in museums and collections worldwide described by Chapin, thus confirming Chapin's theory. The article proceeds to identify the figure as Acuoye Guanyin (Ajaya Avalokitesvara: All Victorious Guanyin), which according to legend portrayed an Indian monk who visited Yunnan in the seventh century who was believed to be an incarnation of Guanyin. Wladimir Zwalf states that these figures were made for the Dali court, appearing to have been made as talismans for the royal family, Zwalf, Buddhism: Art and Faith, British Museum, 1985, p. 206, no. 297. Many scholars discuss the Indian influences in these standing Acuoye figures: the bare chest, slender body, tight-fitting skirt and conical hair. The Acuoye figures all follow the same model and were probably more or less faithful copies of a revered original, probably foreign, statue. The style of the present Guanyin is based on indigenous Chinese sculptural aesthetics of the Tang dynasty (618-907) where elaborate flowing scarves and pendulous jewellery were popular.