AN ENAMELED CAST IRON FIGURE OF THE ASCETIC SHAKYAMUNI, 16TH-17TH CENTURY China. The emaciated figure is seated on a large bag above a circular pedestal, leaning slightly forward with the arched right leg raised to support the bony arms, the face finely modeled with bushy eyebrows, centered by an urna above downcast eyes, his mustache finely incised, the long thin torso exposing the skeletal rib cage above a dhoti painted in red lacquer, tied with a string below the waist.

Provenance: German private collection. A notable private collector in Kensington, London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above.
Condition: Good condition with old wear and some casting flaws, remnants of gilt, minor signs of corrosion, few nicks here and there. Good patina.

Weight: 1,072 g
Dimensions: Height 15.7 cm

The emaciated figure, a depiction of Siddhartha before his attainment of Enlightenment, was a popular iconography from the Yuan dynasty where seated figures are modeled in similar postures. The Yuan examples are often found with the chin resting under the hands, such as the carved wood example in the Detroit Institute of Art, illustrated in Hai-wai Yi-chen, Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Buddhist Sculpture, page 171, no. 158.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's Hong Kong, 30 April 2001, lot 781
Price: HKD 188,000 or approx. EUR 34,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare silver-wire inlaid bronze figure of the ascetic Sakyamuni, 15th/16th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose and expression. Note the silver-wire inlay and similar size (14 cm).

13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU. 十六至十七世紀琺琅苦行釋迦牟尼像
中國。苦行僧嶙峋瘦弱，坐在一個大袋子上，略微前傾，右膝立起，雙手搭在膝上；濃密大眼，雙眼低垂，雙眉之間有白毫；軀幹骨骼嶙峋，上紅漆。

來源：德國私人收藏；英國倫敦肯辛頓知名私人收藏，購於上述收藏。
品相：狀況良好，有磨損和一些鑄造缺陷，鎏金殘留，輕微腐蝕跡象，局部刻痕。包漿良好。

重量：1,072 克
尺寸：高 15.7 厘米

釋迦牟尼成道前的苦行僧模樣，流行於元代，且都是以類似的坐姿呈現。元代的苦行釋迦摩尼坐像，常見其下巴擱在雙手背上，如一件收藏於底特律藝術學院的木雕像，圖見Hai-wai Yi-chen，《Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Buddhist Sculpture》，頁171，編號158。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2001年4月30日，lot 781
價格：HKD 188,000（相當於今日EUR 34,000）
描述：十五至十六世紀錯銀絲銅苦行釋迦牟尼坐像