† A MONUMENTAL PAINTED MARBLE VOTIVE STELE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI AND PRABHUTARATNA, LATE MING TO EARLY QING DYNASTY
Lot 67 - HS0625

Expert’s note:
The present lot was most likely carved during the late Ming or early Qing dynasty, in the distinctive openwork style associated with the Northern Dynasties of the mid-sixth century and the subsequent Sui dynasty. Such copies, often created with meticulous attention to detail, were a testament to the period's antiquarian zeal, as scholars and collectors sought to emulate the aesthetic and spiritual essence of ancient stelae. These revival pieces not only reflected a reverence for the past but also catered to a sophisticated clientele eager to demonstrate their cultural refinement and scholarly pursuits through the acquisition of such works.

China, 16^th-17^th century or possibly earlier. Finely carved and skillfully painted in blue, red, orange, yellow, with black details. Depicting Buddha Shakyamuni attended to by the monks Ananda and Kasyapa, alongside the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. The figures are surrounded by heavenly apsaras holding garlands that support a stupa of 'many treasures'. This stele directly references a point in the Lotus Sutra when a stupa appears above the Buddha Shakyamuni while he preaches the Dharma.

Provenance: From a private collection in Auvergne, France, acquired around 1970.
Condition: Very good condition with expected old wear, few losses to the lotus stem and the right hand of the Buddha, nicks, chips, minor signs of weathering and erosion, remnants of ancient pigments.

Weight: 60 kg
Dimensions: Height 93 cm

From the stupa emanates the voice of Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of the past who preceded the Shakyamuni as a teacher and who promised to appear whenever the Lotus Sutra is preached. Prabhutaratna is depicted here supported by apsaras just below the stupa.

Steles are found at nearly every significant mountain and historical site in China, as erecting them at tombs or temples became a widespread social and religious phenomenon. Emperors found it necessary to promulgate laws, regulating the use of funerary steles by the population. The Ming dynasty laws, instituted in the 14th century by its founder the Hongwu Emperor, listed a number of stele types available as status symbols to various ranks of the nobility and officialdom: the top noblemen and mandarins were eligible for steles installed on top of a stone tortoise and crowned with hornless dragons, while the lower-level officials had to be satisfied with steles with plain rounded tops, standing on simple rectangular pedestals.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related earlier Buddhist votive stele with the Buddha Shakyamuni and Prabhutaratna, dated to the Sui dynasty, 83.8 cm tall, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B62S1+.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 16 October 2021, lot 367
Price: EUR 6,952 or approx. EUR 8,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A limestone Buddhist triad stele of Guanyin and attendants, China, 10th-14th century
Expert remark: This is a stele carved in the Tang style but possibly of later date based on a note written by the previous owner that the well-regarded British museum curator Mary Tregear examined the piece and found that it was perhaps a 14^th-century copy of an originally 10^th-century piece. Note the size (60 cm) and that the present lot is in considerably better condition than this stele, which showed several breaks and reattached sections.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 3059
Price: HKD 980,000 or approx. EUR 170,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A limestone stele of Buddha and bodhisattvas, Sui dynasty, dated to 584
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of carving and polychromy. Note the earlier dating.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 17 September 2014, lot 415
Estimate: USD 120,000 or approx. EUR 150,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white marble Buddhist stele, Northern Qi dynasty, dated Tianbao 4th year, corresponding to 553
Expert remark: Compare the related form and manner of carving. Note the earlier dating.