A bronze figure of the Goddess of the Morning Clouds, Bixia Yuanjun


Ming DynastyThe lady Immortal cast seated with a serene face framed by an elaborate headdress of curling feathers issuing from a single phoenix, the hands clasped at the front of her body, wearing a finely-layered robe adorned with a ruyi-shaped ornament around her chest. 39cm (15 1/4in) high.
|明 銅碧霞元君坐像The figure can be identified as Bixia Yuanjun, also known as the Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn or the Goddess of the Morning Clouds, by the representation of the phoenix on the headdress. The goddess was the daughter of the male god of Mount Tai, the easternmost of the Five Sacred Mountains in Shandong Province, where the Palace of the Clouds of Dawn, Bixia Gong, was built at the top of the mountain as her shrine during the Ming dynasty. Figures of Bixia yuanjun are a personification of the yin force and made for use on Daoist altars. See a gilt-bronze figure of Bixia yuanjun, Ming dynasty, in the British Museum, London (ac.no.1908,0420.6). See also a larger gilt-lacquered bronze figure of Bixia Yuanjun, late Ming dynasty, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2018, lot 10.