AN IMPERIAL INSCRIBED AND GOLD-DECORATED HARDWOOD SHRINE QING DYNASTY, DATED TO THE 25TH YEAR OF THE QIANLONG PERIOD (IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1760)

the tripartite screen supported on a tiered plinth, each section finely painted in gold with three sets of five bats amidst dense scrolling clouds, surrounding a medallion used for framing the head of a copper-alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, all below a stylised angular scroll formed from pairs of kui dragons, the reverse inscribed with three sets of inscriptions in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan, the base with additional inscriptions, reading tianzi sanhao ('Heaven number three') and shuzhi hao ('character shu')

There are typical age cracks and minor scratches and bruises. Possible minor areas of restoration at the fragile extremities. The inscription on the reverse is faded, as visible in the catalogue photo. Please note the colour in the catalogue photo is wrong. The design is not such a rich gold colour in reality.
"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."

This shrine is an extremely rare example of imperial carpentry work and wood carving, executed in the palace workshop, zaobanchu, of the Forbidden City, Beijing. The zaobanchu which was established during the Kangxi reign, was entrusted with the production of specially commissioned furnishings for the imperial temples and palace buildings. During the Qianlong period it is known to have made Buddhist images and other religious artefacts often under the personal supervision of the emperor, who relied on the advice of his mentor and religious teacher, the lama Rolpay Dorje (see Terese Tse Bartholomew, 'Sino-Tibetan Art of the Qianlong Period from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco', Orientations, June 1991, pp. 34-45). The triple dedicatory inscription on the reverse of the present shrine states that “on the 9th day of the 4th month in the 25th year of Qianlong the Zhangjia Hutuketu by Imperial Command, respectfully offered in worship a copper-alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha for imperial benefit". This inscription is repeated three times. The date is equivalent to AD 1760. The Third Zhangjia Hutuketu (lCang-skya Hutuktu), Rolpay Dorje (Rol-pa'i rdo-rje, 1717-1786), one of the heads of the Mongolian branch of lamaism, was the highest incarnation of the lamas of the Gelugpa sect, also known as the Yellow Church. In his youth he was educated together with the future Qianlong Emperor and he remained a trusted advisor throughout his life. When Qianlong ascended the throne in 1736, he became Grand Lama at Beijing, and when he died, Qianlong had a hall in the Pavilion of Raining Flowers (Yuhuage), the largest Tantric chapel of Tibetan Buddhism in the Qing palace, devoted to his memory. It still houses a magnificent silver statue of Rolpay Dorje commissioned by Qianlong as well as a pair of hanging scrolls with a couplet written in his memory by the emperor (Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Hong Kong, 1992, pls 36 and 112).

Another gilt brass sculpture depicting Rolpay Dorje from the State Hermitage, Leningrad, is illustrated in Bartholomew, op.cit., fig.1. In an essay entitled 'Fo kan/Buddhist Shrines' Wang Jiapeng states in the exhibition catalogue Buddhist Art from Rehol, Taipei, 1999, p.173f. (Chinese) and p.258f. (English), that the Qianlong Emperor repeatedly commissioned shrines to be made for Buddhist images that had been given to him by Mongolian princes and Tibetan lamas, and that these shrines were all made by the zaobanchu of the Yangxin Hall in the palace. According to Wang Jiapeng, 'Zhangjia Hutuketu xiang xiaokao [A study on the portrait statue of Zhangjia Hutuketu]', Gugong Bowuyuan yuankan, 1987, no.4, p.48, many Buddhist sculptures and paintings of the Qianlong period in the Palace Museum collection are inscribed with the phrase also inscribed on the present shrine, stating that they were donated by the Rolpay Dorje, and one such image donated in 1779, is illustrated in Cultural Relics, op. cit., pl.35.