A LARGE HARDWOOD FIGURE OF DAMO (BODHIDHARMA), LATE MING TO EARLY QING DYNASTY China, 17^th – 18^th century. Finely carved standing atop a globular base in the form of wavy water with a single reed, his arms shrouded in his loose-fitting monastic robe, the serene face with piercing eyes, curled brows and neatly groomed beard. The wood with a subdued polish, a distinct dark-brown hue and a faint reddish luster.

Provenance: From an old French private estate. A noted Austrian Netsuke collector, acquired from the above via the Paris auction market.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, several natural age cracks, few minuscule nicks. Fine, naturally grown patina with an unctuous feel overall, the obvious result from centuries of handling and caressing.

Weight: 2,997 g
Dimensions: Height 44.5 cm

Bodhidharma is regarded as the first Chinese patriarch of Chan Buddhism who lived during the fifth/sixth century. Despite the lack of robust biographical information, early Chinese texts such as the Luoyang Qielan Ji, 'Record of the Buddhist Temples of Luoyang', written around 547 by Yang Xuanzhi, recorded Bodhidharma as a monk who traveled from Central Asia to China. Daoxuan described Bodhidharma in Xu Gaoseng Zhuan, the 'Continuation of The Biographies of Eminent Monks', in the mid-seventh century, as a monk from southern India who arrived at the Kingdom of Nanyue during the Song period and then turned north to the Kingdom of Wei. Legend also tells that the sage once crossed over the Yangtze River by riding a branch of reed, as implied by the present carving, in order to transmit the Mahayana teachings to the north.

The present lot belongs to an ascetic group of late Ming to early Qing figures which exhibit strong fluid lines and freedom of pose, worked in a variety of materials including wood, bronze, ivory, and rhinoceros horn.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related boxwood figure of Bodhidharma dated late Ming dynasty in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing, illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, page 15, pl. 14. Compare a closely related rhinoceros horn carving of Bodhidharma, 14.3 cm high, also dated to the late Ming dynasty, illustrated by Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, 1999, London, page 110, no. 104.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of Bodhidharma, 29.4 cm high, dated Wanli to Jiajing, at Bonhams Hong Kong in A Private North American Collection of Scholar’s Objects on 24 November 2012, lot 316, sold for HKD 596,000.

明末清初大型木雕達摩祖師
中國， 十七至十八世紀。精雕細刻，達摩腳踩一葉蘆葦立於水波之上，雙臂藏於僧袍廣袖中，面容安詳，目光銳利，彎眉，整齊的鬍鬚。造像表面光滑，有著柔和的深棕紅色光澤。

來源：法國私人收藏；奧地利知名根付收藏家通過拍賣行購於上述收藏處。
品相：狀況良好，有舊磨損，幾處自然老化的裂縫，細小的劃痕。天然細膩的包漿，整體感覺柔和潤澤。

重量: 2,997 克
尺寸：高 44.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相似的達摩銅像，高 29.4 厘米，萬曆至嘉靖，見香港邦翰思 A Private North American Collection of Scholar’s Objects 2012年11月24日 lot 316, 售價HKD 596,000。