3rd Dec, 2021 13:00

Fine Japanese Art

 
  Lot 118
 

118

A POLYCHROME AND GILT-LACQUERED FIGURE OF A BUDDHIST MONK

Sold for €6,320

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

Japan, 16th-17th century, late Muromachi (1336-1573) to early Edo period (1615-1868)

Carved in yosegi zukuri (joined wood-block construction) from cypress wood and assembled in separate sections. Painted on a gesso ground, the monk seated in dhyanasana on a separately carved tiered lotus throne with a petal-lappet top section, a leaf-form bottom section, and a compressed ovoid mid-section carved with floral diapered patterns, all supported on an oval plinth.

The head is separately carved, the face with an expression of intense focus with downcast eyes and the mouth agape, the hands clasped together in prayer. His long flowing robes are elaborately painted and carved with floral scroll, lotus, and diapered designs.

Backed by a separately carved halo with central lotus flower and with gold inscription: 貫療院普門道現居士増進菩提、和 “Kanryo-in, Fumon, Dogen-koji, zoshin bodai, wa” which may be translated: [To assist and enhance the Dharma Bodhi (Supreme Enlightenment), for the person with name Kanryo-in Fumon Dogen koji, in peace].

HEIGHT 69 cm (total) and 37 cm (the figure)

Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear and minor losses. Some flaking to lacquer, the head with extensive crackling. Small chips and nicks as well as light scratches. Small old repairs and minor touchups.
Provenance: Christian Magnier, Japon Antique, Paris, 29 January 2009. Jane and Robert Coppenrath, acquired from the above. Jane (d. 2020) and Robert Coppenrath (d. 2017) were collectors of Japanese, African, and Inuit art based in Montréal. Jane, a native of the United Kingdom, and Robert, a native of France, began their careers in Canada in the early 1970s. Robert owned an antiques shop while Jane worked in an art gallery. They were avid travelers and adventurers, with visits to antique shops in Brussels, art galleries in Paris and Berlin, and antique vendors in Bombay, Bangkok, and Tokyo, among others.

Yosegi-zukuri, or the joined wood-block construction, is a sculpting method in which several rectangular blocks of wood are individually selected and carved into shapes. Yosegi-zukuri, together with ichiboku-zukuri (single block construction), are the two main techniques associated with wood sculpture in Japan. There were several advantages of a sculpture made from multiple blocks of wood. It was much lighter than one carved out of a single block of wood. The technique also helped to minimize the cracking of the wood caused by the outside layer drying faster than the core of the sculpture.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related wood figure of a Buddhist monk (47 cm high), also dated 16th-17th century, but in significantly lesser condition, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 March 2017, New York, lot 6151 (sold for 10,000 USD). Compare a larger figure of Jizo Bosatsu from the 17th century, at Christies New York, on 17 March 2009, lot 18 (sold for 28,750 USD). Also compare a related wood sculpture of Jizo Bosatsu, dated probably Momoyama period, with a similar halo, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 6 November 2012, London, lot 382 (bought in at an estimate of 25,000-35,000 GBP).

 

Japan, 16th-17th century, late Muromachi (1336-1573) to early Edo period (1615-1868)

Carved in yosegi zukuri (joined wood-block construction) from cypress wood and assembled in separate sections. Painted on a gesso ground, the monk seated in dhyanasana on a separately carved tiered lotus throne with a petal-lappet top section, a leaf-form bottom section, and a compressed ovoid mid-section carved with floral diapered patterns, all supported on an oval plinth.

The head is separately carved, the face with an expression of intense focus with downcast eyes and the mouth agape, the hands clasped together in prayer. His long flowing robes are elaborately painted and carved with floral scroll, lotus, and diapered designs.

Backed by a separately carved halo with central lotus flower and with gold inscription: 貫療院普門道現居士増進菩提、和 “Kanryo-in, Fumon, Dogen-koji, zoshin bodai, wa” which may be translated: [To assist and enhance the Dharma Bodhi (Supreme Enlightenment), for the person with name Kanryo-in Fumon Dogen koji, in peace].

HEIGHT 69 cm (total) and 37 cm (the figure)

Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear and minor losses. Some flaking to lacquer, the head with extensive crackling. Small chips and nicks as well as light scratches. Small old repairs and minor touchups.
Provenance: Christian Magnier, Japon Antique, Paris, 29 January 2009. Jane and Robert Coppenrath, acquired from the above. Jane (d. 2020) and Robert Coppenrath (d. 2017) were collectors of Japanese, African, and Inuit art based in Montréal. Jane, a native of the United Kingdom, and Robert, a native of France, began their careers in Canada in the early 1970s. Robert owned an antiques shop while Jane worked in an art gallery. They were avid travelers and adventurers, with visits to antique shops in Brussels, art galleries in Paris and Berlin, and antique vendors in Bombay, Bangkok, and Tokyo, among others.

Yosegi-zukuri, or the joined wood-block construction, is a sculpting method in which several rectangular blocks of wood are individually selected and carved into shapes. Yosegi-zukuri, together with ichiboku-zukuri (single block construction), are the two main techniques associated with wood sculpture in Japan. There were several advantages of a sculpture made from multiple blocks of wood. It was much lighter than one carved out of a single block of wood. The technique also helped to minimize the cracking of the wood caused by the outside layer drying faster than the core of the sculpture.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related wood figure of a Buddhist monk (47 cm high), also dated 16th-17th century, but in significantly lesser condition, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 March 2017, New York, lot 6151 (sold for 10,000 USD). Compare a larger figure of Jizo Bosatsu from the 17th century, at Christies New York, on 17 March 2009, lot 18 (sold for 28,750 USD). Also compare a related wood sculpture of Jizo Bosatsu, dated probably Momoyama period, with a similar halo, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 6 November 2012, London, lot 382 (bought in at an estimate of 25,000-35,000 GBP).

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