10th Apr, 2025 11:00
TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism
32
A PAIR OF PAINTED WOODEN ‘BEAUTIES’, EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY
€3,000
€6,000
€3,000 (1bid)
A buyer’s premium of 30.00% (including VAT) applies to the hammer price of this lot if your bid is successful.
China, 5th-4th century BC. Elegantly yet plainly carved. Each female figure with a large oval head, strikingly scooped out and painted with almond-shaped eyes below arched brows, centered by a slender nose, the hair detailed in black, the bow-shaped mouth neatly detailed. One figure with the hands clasped around the arms, the other showing square mortise holes. The long robes falling in gently spreading cones. One figure with three and the other with two apertures to the underside. (2)
Provenance: From a French private collection, acquired circa 1980-1990, and thence by descent.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, losses, natural age cracks, some with old fills, remnants of ancient black and red pigments, one figure with small old repairs to the arms, the other with minor touchups to the left shoulder.
Weight: 348 g and 337 g
Dimensions: Height 36.4 cm and 36.3 cm
Given the perishable nature of wood, such figures are extremely rare, the later pottery statues and vessels being much more common. The practice of burying wood figures began in the Eastern Zhou dynasty and flourished during the Kingdom of Chu (740-330 BC). Several wood statues have been excavated from Chu tombs in Changsha, Hunan.
Expert’s note:
The present wood sculptures, despite being around 2,400 years old, bear a striking resemblance to the works of Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) and Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957), two pioneers of Modernism who worked mainly in France. Given the huge interest in Chinese art among Western European artists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is easily conceivable that both artists were influenced by figures from this group. English sculptor Jacob Epstein once recalled that Modigliani had filled his studio with “nine or ten long heads and one figure. He would place candles on the top of each one and the effect was that of a primitive temple. It was said that Modigliani, when under the influence of hashish, embraced these sculptures.” Modigliani seems to have conceived his works as if they were sacred. For him, his sculptures were all component parts of a vast, greater enterprise. Through his work, Modigliani had, by all accounts, come to dream of creating what he called a “Temple of Beauty”. At the basis of Modigliani’s sculptural vision was an innate concept of a sublime, timeless and all-encompassing beauty. Today, debate continues to rage amongst art historians and other admirers of Modigliani’s stone heads about the range and degree of impact brought to bear by such wide-ranging influences as African, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Near-Eastern and Oriental art, upon his extraordinarily rich, elegant and multifaceted sculptures. Looking at the present pair of Zhou dynasty beauties, it becomes quite clear that Chinese sculpture must have played a certain role in the creation of Modigliani’s iconic heads.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related wood figure, dated ca. 300 BC, 47 cm high, in the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Compare a closely related painted wood figure, dated to the Eastern Zhou, circa 3rd century BC, illustrated in J.J. Lally & Co. Oriental Art, Two Thousand Years of Chinese Sculpture, New York, 2008, no. 2. Another closely related figure was included in the exhibition, Early Chinese art: 8th century BC - 9th century AD, Eskenazi, London, 6 June - 8 July 1995, no. 45.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2000, lot 193
Price: USD 68,500 or approx. EUR 123,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare pair of large painted wood figures of attendants, Eastern Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of carving with similar pose and simplistic carving style. Note the different size (57.2 cm).
China, 5th-4th century BC. Elegantly yet plainly carved. Each female figure with a large oval head, strikingly scooped out and painted with almond-shaped eyes below arched brows, centered by a slender nose, the hair detailed in black, the bow-shaped mouth neatly detailed. One figure with the hands clasped around the arms, the other showing square mortise holes. The long robes falling in gently spreading cones. One figure with three and the other with two apertures to the underside. (2)
Provenance: From a French private collection, acquired circa 1980-1990, and thence by descent.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, losses, natural age cracks, some with old fills, remnants of ancient black and red pigments, one figure with small old repairs to the arms, the other with minor touchups to the left shoulder.
Weight: 348 g and 337 g
Dimensions: Height 36.4 cm and 36.3 cm
Given the perishable nature of wood, such figures are extremely rare, the later pottery statues and vessels being much more common. The practice of burying wood figures began in the Eastern Zhou dynasty and flourished during the Kingdom of Chu (740-330 BC). Several wood statues have been excavated from Chu tombs in Changsha, Hunan.
Expert’s note:
The present wood sculptures, despite being around 2,400 years old, bear a striking resemblance to the works of Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) and Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957), two pioneers of Modernism who worked mainly in France. Given the huge interest in Chinese art among Western European artists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is easily conceivable that both artists were influenced by figures from this group. English sculptor Jacob Epstein once recalled that Modigliani had filled his studio with “nine or ten long heads and one figure. He would place candles on the top of each one and the effect was that of a primitive temple. It was said that Modigliani, when under the influence of hashish, embraced these sculptures.” Modigliani seems to have conceived his works as if they were sacred. For him, his sculptures were all component parts of a vast, greater enterprise. Through his work, Modigliani had, by all accounts, come to dream of creating what he called a “Temple of Beauty”. At the basis of Modigliani’s sculptural vision was an innate concept of a sublime, timeless and all-encompassing beauty. Today, debate continues to rage amongst art historians and other admirers of Modigliani’s stone heads about the range and degree of impact brought to bear by such wide-ranging influences as African, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Near-Eastern and Oriental art, upon his extraordinarily rich, elegant and multifaceted sculptures. Looking at the present pair of Zhou dynasty beauties, it becomes quite clear that Chinese sculpture must have played a certain role in the creation of Modigliani’s iconic heads.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related wood figure, dated ca. 300 BC, 47 cm high, in the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Compare a closely related painted wood figure, dated to the Eastern Zhou, circa 3rd century BC, illustrated in J.J. Lally & Co. Oriental Art, Two Thousand Years of Chinese Sculpture, New York, 2008, no. 2. Another closely related figure was included in the exhibition, Early Chinese art: 8th century BC - 9th century AD, Eskenazi, London, 6 June - 8 July 1995, no. 45.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2000, lot 193
Price: USD 68,500 or approx. EUR 123,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare pair of large painted wood figures of attendants, Eastern Zhou dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of carving with similar pose and simplistic carving style. Note the different size (57.2 cm).
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Auction: TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism, 10th Apr, 2025
Galerie Zacke is privileged to present a remarkable two-day live auction event, featuring 684 works of art from China, Southeast Asia, India, and beyond.
The highlight is our flagship live auction on Day 1, showcasing lots 1-269, Among the many standout pieces are a ge-type octagonal bowl from the Southern Song dynasty, part of the Jules Speelman collection (lot 137), a rare 1st-2nd century gold figure of a mother goddess from the Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum collection (lot 176), as well as a group of four parcel-gilt bronze Bodhisattvas from the Bao-Xiang Lo Palace and Temple, with Qianlong marks and of the period (lot 52).
Day 2 continues with our general auction (lots 270-684), offering seasoned collectors and new bidders alike an opportunity to enhance their collections. Learn more.
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