A JIN - MING DYNASTY WOOD FIGURE OF A DAOIST IMMORTAL China, 12th-16th century. The sage seated as a dignitary wearing a cap of office and a finely painted beard. This statue is particularly attractive for the soft and expressive modeling of the figure's facial features, which exudes a sense of serenity and confidence, with downcast eyes and a gentle smile. Provenance: Belgian private collection. Condition: Original unrestored condition, very impressive considering the age of this piece! Age cracks, losses, deterioration to backside. Remains of green, red, black, and flesh pigments. The back with a significant recess, probably originally to store religious artefacts, the sealing lost. Weight: 3.4 kg Dimensions: Height 46 cm (the figure) and 50.7 cm (incl. base) The immortal is wearing a band around his waist holding his elegant, flowing robes falling into voluminous folds, the band is bound together by a bow, one hand is resting on the bow, the other on his left knee. The simple and low-relief folds of his robes, which fall in vertical parallel lines, are reminiscent of stone sculpture and further emphasize the majesty of the dignitary. Mounted on an associated wood base. (2) Literature comparison: Compare with a similarly carved sculpture of a female immortal with the hands concealed beneath a cloth, included in the exhibition of Cultural Artifacts of Taoism, National Museum of History, Taipei, 2006, p. 131. See also a wood figure of a standing deity, attributed to the Northern Song period, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Diaosu bian [The complete series on Chinese art. Sculpture], vol. 5, Beijing, 1988, pl. 84, together with a much larger polychrome painted example, dressed in a similar robe, pl. 83. Another wood figure of a seated female Daoist immortal, but of larger size (152 cm. high) and dated to the Song dynasty, from the Liang-sheng T'ang Collection is illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculpture II, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, 2000, p. 90, no. 35. Another figure shown standing and dated to the Northern Song dynasty, is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian; Wudai Song diaosu, Beijing, 1988, vol. 5, p. 91, no. 84. Auction result comparison: A related but considerably larger figure from the Song dynasty was sold by Christie's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 17 September 2008, lot 383, for USD $30,000 incl. buyer's premium. Another related, but considerably larger figure, dated 13th to 16th century, was sold in these rooms on 29 September 2018, lot 135, for EUR €37,000 excl. buyer's premium. 道教仙人木像，金至明代 中國，十二至十六世紀。仙人頭戴文官帽，彩繪精美。面部表情柔和，機富表現力，散發著寧靜和自信的感覺，眼睛低垂，慈祥微笑。 來源：比利時私人收藏 品相：原始未修復狀態，考慮到這件作品的年代，其狀況非常令人印象深刻！ 年代裂縫、缺失，已延申到背面。綠色、紅色、黑色和肉色彩繪顔料殘餘。背面有一個明顯的凹口，可能最初是用來存放宗教法器的，封口遺失。 重量：3.4 公斤 尺寸：像高46 厘米，含底座50.7 厘米