Lot 1261, figural stand, bronze, Han Dynasty, 6 3/4 inches long
By Carter B. Horsley
This March 24, 2011 auction at Christie's of Chinese Works of Art is highlighted by a very fine stone head of Buddha, a superb gilt bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, a fine bronze figural stand from the Han Dynasty and a glazed mermaid.
Lot 1261 is perhaps the most animated work in the auction. It is a bronze figural stand from the Han Dynasty that is 6 3/4 inches long and depicts "a foreigner with arms outstretched holding a conical receptable in his right hand, wearing a loin cloth and seated atop a chimera standing in an aggressive pose with its mouth open in a fierce roar above its long, trailing beard, its curved horns curled back behind the ears and the tufts of hair that sprout from the cheeks, the details of its short wings finely incised and its bony tail curled around its rear left leg, the smooth surface with some milky green malachite encrustation. The lot was once with the Tsui Museum of Art and has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $98,500.
Lot 1296, head of Buddha, stone, Northern Wei Dynasty, 6th Century B.C., Longxian Grotto, Hunan Province, 17 inches high
Lot 1294, Gilt bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, Dali Kingdom, Yunnan Province, 12th Century, 17 7/8 inches high
Lot 1241, Ritual food vessel and cover, bronze, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 9 7/8 inches in diameter
This March 24, 2011 auction at Christie's of Chinese Works of Art is highlighted by a very fine stone head of Buddha, a superb gilt bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, a fine bronze figural stand from the Han Dynasty and a glazed mermaid.
Lot 1261 is perhaps the most animated work in the auction. It is a bronze figural stand from the Han Dynasty that is 6 3/4 inches long and depicts "a foreigner with arms outstretched holding a conical receptable in his right hand, wearing a loin cloth and seated atop a chimera standing in an aggressive pose with its mouth open in a fierce roar above its long, trailing beard, its curved horns curled back behind the ears and the tufts of hair that sprout from the cheeks, the details of its short wings finely incised and its bony tail curled around its rear left leg, the smooth surface with some milky green malachite encrustation. The lot was once with the Tsui Museum of Art and has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $98,500.
Lot 1296, head of Buddha, stone, Northern Wei Dynasty, 6th Century B.C., Longxian Grotto, Hunan Province, 17 inches high
Lot
1296 is a very beautiful stone head of Buddha from
the Northern Wei
Dynasty, 6th Century B.C., Longxian Grotto, Hunan Province.
It is 17
inches high and was once in the Alphonse Khan collection in Paris.
It
has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $338,500.
Lot 1294, Gilt bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, Dali Kingdom, Yunnan Province, 12th Century, 17 7/8 inches high
Lot
1294 is a very lovely and quite restrained gilt bronze figure of Acuoye
Guanyin, Dali Kingdom, Yunnan Province, 12th Century. The
tall and slender statue is 17 7/8 inches high and comes from
the Walter and Phyllis Shorenstein Collection of Chinese Art.
Mr. Shorenstein was a major real estate developer in San
Francisco. The lot has an estimate of $500,000 to $800,000. It sold for $4,002,500.
Lot 1241, Ritual food vessel and cover, bronze, Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 9 7/8 inches in diameter
Lot
1241 is a "very rare" bronze ritual food vessel and cover from the
Early Western Zhou Dynasty. It is 9 7/8 inches in diameter
and has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It was formerly
in the Tsui Museum of Art. It sold for $302,500. The long
handles issue from bovine masks with pronounced horns and interrupt a
band of alternating whorls and descending dragons.
