17th Oct, 2024 11:00

TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism

 
  Lot 30
 

30

‘MANJUSHRI SEATED ON A LION’, QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Sold for €1,560

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

China. Ink, watercolors, and gouache on paper. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a paper frame with wooden handles. Finely painted with the bodhisattva seated in royal ease atop his fierce lion, his face with a serene expression and curled mustache, his long hair elegantly falling in twisted locks over his shoulders, backed by a circular halo, all in a rocky landscape under a densely clouded sky.

Provenance: Collection of Anton Exner (1882-1952), Vienna, Austria, and thence by descent. Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 30 September 2017, lot 111. A private collection in Vienna, Austria, acquired from the above. An old collector’s label to the handle, inscribed ‘1513/AMM’. Anton Exner (1882-1952) was the most important dealer, collector, and assessor of East Asian art in Vienna during the interwar period. His collection included all branches of Asian art – particularly Chinese and Japanese – from all epochs. During a long sojourn in Canada and the USA from 1908 to 1910, he made contact with Chinese dealers and later acquired handicrafts and Japanese silk blouses at various Asian ports, which formed the basis for his future business activities in Vienna. From then on, he went almost every year on buying trips to the Far East. The Austrian auction house Dorotheum appointed him as a sworn assessor of Asian art, a position he held for around a quarter of a century. From the early 1920s, he lent objects for all major exhibitions of Asian art in Vienna.
Condition: Fair condition with wear, minor soiling and staining, browning, small tears, minor losses, creasing and folds. Obvious small touchups and repairs here and there.

Dimensions: Image size 113 x 72 cm, Size incl. frame 181 x 81 cm

One of the three most important bodhisattvas in East Asia, Manjushri (Wenshu) is said to have originated in China from the mountains associated with Mount Wutai, a famous Buddhist monastic center. He was worshiped in China as the embodiment of knowledge and the guardian of sacred doctrines. Usually presented as a youthful, bejeweled prince, he is often shown seated on the back of a lion, and carries a book of truth and a sword that cuts through the darkness of ignorance.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related painting of Manjushri, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century, at Sotheby’s New York, 31 March 2005, lot 311.

 

China. Ink, watercolors, and gouache on paper. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a paper frame with wooden handles. Finely painted with the bodhisattva seated in royal ease atop his fierce lion, his face with a serene expression and curled mustache, his long hair elegantly falling in twisted locks over his shoulders, backed by a circular halo, all in a rocky landscape under a densely clouded sky.

Provenance: Collection of Anton Exner (1882-1952), Vienna, Austria, and thence by descent. Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 30 September 2017, lot 111. A private collection in Vienna, Austria, acquired from the above. An old collector’s label to the handle, inscribed ‘1513/AMM’. Anton Exner (1882-1952) was the most important dealer, collector, and assessor of East Asian art in Vienna during the interwar period. His collection included all branches of Asian art – particularly Chinese and Japanese – from all epochs. During a long sojourn in Canada and the USA from 1908 to 1910, he made contact with Chinese dealers and later acquired handicrafts and Japanese silk blouses at various Asian ports, which formed the basis for his future business activities in Vienna. From then on, he went almost every year on buying trips to the Far East. The Austrian auction house Dorotheum appointed him as a sworn assessor of Asian art, a position he held for around a quarter of a century. From the early 1920s, he lent objects for all major exhibitions of Asian art in Vienna.
Condition: Fair condition with wear, minor soiling and staining, browning, small tears, minor losses, creasing and folds. Obvious small touchups and repairs here and there.

Dimensions: Image size 113 x 72 cm, Size incl. frame 181 x 81 cm

One of the three most important bodhisattvas in East Asia, Manjushri (Wenshu) is said to have originated in China from the mountains associated with Mount Wutai, a famous Buddhist monastic center. He was worshiped in China as the embodiment of knowledge and the guardian of sacred doctrines. Usually presented as a youthful, bejeweled prince, he is often shown seated on the back of a lion, and carries a book of truth and a sword that cuts through the darkness of ignorance.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related painting of Manjushri, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century, at Sotheby’s New York, 31 March 2005, lot 311.

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