A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF THE WATER MOON GUANYIN, SOUTHERN SONG-EARLY MING DYNASTY

China, circa 13^th-14^th century. Superbly cast seated in rajalilasana, with the right leg raised and the arms crossed before the chest, the head gently resting on the right hand in a deeply pensive expression heightened by the crisply delineated facial features like the heavy-lidded downcast eyes centered by a raised circular urna and rosebud lips forming a subtle smile above the rounded chin.

The deity is clad in long flowing robes cascading in naturalistic folds, the hems neatly incised with foliate scroll and minutely punched with swirling clouds, and adorned with a necklace suspending a beaded ruyi pendant and a pair of bracelets. The meticulously incised hair is braided in an elaborate chignon with two thin strands wrapping around the ears.

Provenance: The collection of Count Federico Zichy-Thyssen, Paraguay, and thence by descent in the family. A private South American collection, acquired directly from the above. A copy of a provenance statement written and signed by the present owner, dated 18 July 2025, and confirming the above, accompanies this lot. Count Federico Augusto Zichy‑Thyssen (1937-2014), born into a distinguished German-Hungarian aristocratic dynasty, was raised in Argentina—a background that fostered a lifelong devotion to gaucho traditions, agriculture, and horse breeding. He made his mark as a celebrated breeder of Arabian horses, overseeing renowned studs in both Argentina and Paraguay and showcasing his equine talent on the international stage. Beyond equestrian pursuits, Zichy‑Thyssen was an avid art collector, particularly fine Chinese ceramics and works of art. For example, a yellow and green enameled dragon vase with a Jiaqing mark and of the period from Zichy-Thyssen’s collection was sold at Christie’s New York, 24 September 2021, lot 874, for USD 200,000.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities including few small circular casting patches, few light nicks and small dents, occasional light scratches, expected rubbing and minor losses to gilt, one finger lost, few old soldering marks to interior.

Weight: 2.4 kg (excl. stand), 3.8 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 30.7 cm (excl. stand), 34.5 cm (incl. stand)

With an acrylic stand. (2)

This figure represents the Water Moon Guanyin, a subject frequently depicted in Buddhist paintings of the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods but only rarely portrayed in sculpture. The royal ease pose conveys tranquility and withdrawal from the world, and was a popular sculptural formula between the 10th and 14th centuries. When seated in this pose, Guanyin is usually shown either as the White Robed Guanyin or the Water Moon Guanyin. In paintings, the White Robed Guanyin wears a simple robe with a scarf or shawl covering the head—often concealing the crown or topknot—and appears in a subdued landscape with a waterfall. The Water Moon Guanyin, by contrast, wears the conventional robes of a bodhisattva, adorned with jewels, and is set in a dense blue-and-green paradise, with coral and treasures, a moon above that often serves as a mandorla, and a pond below in which the moon is reflected. Even when sculptures lack their bases and surrounds, the two types are easily distinguished: the White Robed Guanyin is always veiled, as in a gilt-bronze sculpture dated 900–1100 in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1984.7 (fig. 1). The present figure, by contrast, wears standard bodhisattva robes and jewelry, with a topknot and often a crown. It further distinguishes itself with its pensive gesture, a motif later adopted by the Imperial workshops, as exemplified by a Yongle-period gilt-bronze Avalokiteshvara, 21.5 cm high, in the Potala Palace, Lhasa (fig. 2).

An early gilt bronze Water Moon Guanyin in the Harvard Art Museums, dated 9th–10th century, object number 1943.53.60 (fig. 3), typifies the Five Dynasties to early Northern Song style and established the appearance for subsequent gilt bronze representations of this subject. In like manner, the Cleveland gilt-bronze (fig. 1) is among the earliest sculptural depictions of the White Robed Guanyin. As the Harvard sculpture set the model for Water Moon figures, so the Cleveland example did for White Robed depictions. Seated in royal ease, the Harvard figure shows the oval face, bare chest with beaded necklace, capelet across the shoulders, and voluminous dhoti covering the body from waist to ankles—all features that became hallmarks of later Yuan and Ming gilt bronze Water Moon Guanyin figures in Chinese style.

The Water Moon manifestation is not described in the sutras but derives from the story of Sudhana—Shancai Tongzi in Chinese—who visits Guanyin in his mountain paradise. As told in the Gandavyuha Sutra (the Rufajie pin, the thirty-ninth and final chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra), Sudhana, at the behest of Bodhisattva Manjushri, embarked on a pilgrimage to fifty-three teachers and bodhisattvas before attaining enlightenment. The twenty-eighth master he visited was Avalokiteshvara, or Guanyin, encountered in his residence atop Mount Potalaka, identified in China with Mount Putuo in the East China Sea. This encounter provided the textual source for the Water Moon iconography. In China, devotion to Guanyin spread through sutras, miracle tales, and legends, which linked the deity to water and the moon, evoking impermanence, reflection, and transformation.

Original bases for Water Moon Guanyin sculptures typically represent the flat-topped rock on which the bodhisattva sits in paradise. Although few survive, a ceramic Water Moon Guanyin from the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang province shows the deity seated in royal ease on a rocky outcropping rising from waves. This example, in the British Museum, registration number 1991,0304.3 (fig. 4), dated between 1300 and 1400, suggests the form of the base that likely supported the present sculpture.

Expert’s note:
A comparison between two closely related figures of this type is particularly revealing, as the differences in ornamentation highlight how stylistic choices—such as the movement of the scarf and folds or the amount of jewelry—evolved over the centuries. In this instance, these distinctions indicate that the present lot is an early example within the group. See, for instance, a gilt-bronze figure of a bodhisattva, 19.5 cm high, dated to the second half of the 12th century–first half of the 13th century, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (accession number EA1956.1376), and a gilt-lacquered figure of Guanyin, 28 cm high, dated to the Yuan dynasty, in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (accession number 104.2002).

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related gilt-bronze figure of Guanyin, 28.7 cm high, dated 13^th-14^th century, in the British Museum, registration number 1947,0712.392. Compare a related gilt-bronze figure of Guanyin, 34 cm high, dated approx. 1300-1400, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60S566.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2020, lot 810
Price: USD 942,000 or approx. EUR 920,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare gilt-bronze figure of white-robed Guanyin, 15^th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, manner of casting, gilding, and subject. Note the similar ruyi emblem at the chest. Also note the much smaller size (20.3 cm) and slightly later dating.