A ROBIN’S-EGG-GLAZED AND GILT PORCELAIN FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA, QIANLONG TO JIAQING PERIOD
China, 1736-1820. The bodhisattva kneeling on a lotus throne with hands held in veneration as a worshiper in a temple, having an elaborate dhoti with strands of tasseled and beaded jewelry, and wearing a five-pointed crown. The neatly modeled, carved, incised and gilt porcelain finely decorated with blue, turquoise, and chestnut-colored glazes.


Provenance:
The Estate of Allen Abramson, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. A notable private collector in Chicago, USA, acquired from the above. Allen Harold Abramson (1929-2016) was an American art and antiques dealer, collector, and author. He opened his first art gallery in 1964 and kept the company of celebrities such as Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker, throwing lavish parties at his famous apartment on Detroit’s Six Mile Road. He was also an important patron of the controversial Detroit artist William Girard. In his later years, he wrote and published a memoir titled Allen Abramson: The Odyssey (or the Idiocy).

Condition:
Good condition with old wear and expected firing irregularities. Minute flaking to enamels. The tip of the tiara and chignon as well as both hands show small repairs.The interior with three circular apertures and small firing cracks, all inherent to manufacture. Presenting exceptionally well.

Weight: 1,356 g
Dimensions: Height 28.8 cm

With an old silk storage box. (2)


Expert’s note:
The present lot belongs a series of figures based on original prototypes in bronze, which were produced by Imperial command during the Yongle and Xuande periods and given as diplomatic gifts to Tibetan leaders. For an example of a prototype for the present lot, see a Xuande mark and period gilt-bronze bodhisattva in the Rietberg Museum, illustrated by Helmut Uhlig in On the Path to Enlightenment: The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum of Rietberg Zurich, Zurich, 1995, pl. 72, page 123 (fig.1), where the author suggests that the figure may represent a member of the Chinese imperial family. An unmarked example, dated to the Xuande period, is in the V&A collection, no. 275&A-1898. This piece shows that the robin’s egg glaze on the present lot is an ingenious imitation of the colorful cloisonné work on the original prototypes.


Literature comparison:

For a related porcelain example from the Malcolm MacDonald collection, no. DUROM.1969.358, and now in the Oriental Museum, University of Durham, United Kingdom, see Ireneus Legeza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972, p. 122, no. 72. Another enameled porcelain figure of a bodhisattva is illustrated by Lou Pin-heng, Precious Treasures of My Humble House, Taipei, 1988, page 54, no. 12.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2008, lot 578
Price: HKD 960,000 or approx.
EUR 168,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare enameled figure of a kneeling bodhisattva, Qianlong
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, with similar pose, face, and base, robin’s egg enamels, and gilt decoration. Note the closely related size (29 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's, New York, 17 March 2015, lot 362
Price: USD 37,500 or approx.
EUR 45,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A robin’s egg glazed and gilded porcelain figure of a bodhisattva, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, with similar pose, face, and base, robin’s egg enamels, and gilt decoration. Note the similar condition issues: “The central peak of the tiara has a restored section to the tip, and two fingers on the figure's left hand, and the thumb on the right have been restored.”




乾隆至嘉慶時期鎏金陶瓷菩薩像，局部爐鈞釉

中國, 1736-1820年。菩薩單膝跪在蓮台上，雙手擡起，身穿精緻的外袍，上面飾有流蘇和瓔珞，頭戴五葉冠。 瓷器造型工整，雕花、刻花、鎏金，飾有藍色、松石色、栗色釉。


來源：
美國密歇根法明頓歇爾根Abramson收藏；美國芝加哥知名私人收藏，購於上述收藏。Allen Harold Abramson (1929-2016) 是一位美國藝術品和古董經銷商、收藏家和作家。他於1964 年開設了第一家藝術畫廊，與瑪琳·黛德麗(Marlene Dietrich) 和約瑟芬·貝克(Josephine Baker) 等名人為伴，在他位於底特律六英里路的著名公寓裡舉辦奢華派對。 他也是備受爭議的底特律藝術家威廉·吉拉德的重要贊助人。晚年，他撰寫並出版了一本回憶錄。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損和燒製不規則。局部釉面剝落。五葉冠和髮髻的尖端，以及雙手有修補。內部有三個圓形孔和小燒製裂紋，這些都是製造時固有的。

重量：1,356 克
尺寸：高 28.8 厘米

儲物盒有絲質内襯。 (2)


專家注釋：
本拍品屬於永樂、宣德時期製作的銅造像系列，作為外交禮品贈送給西藏領導人。欲了解本拍品的原型示例，請參閱Rietberg Museum藏的宣德年製鎏金銅菩薩像，由赫爾穆特·烏里希(Helmut Uhlig) 在《啟蒙之路：蘇黎世里特貝格博物館的貝爾蒂·阿施曼西藏藝術基金會》（On the Path to Enlightenment: The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum of Rietberg Zurich）中繪製，蘇黎世，1995 年，圖版72，第 123 頁（圖 1），作者暗示該人物可能代表中國皇室成員。 V&A 藏品中有一件無標記的宣德時期的例子，編號：111。 275&A-1898。 這件作品表明，本拍品上的爐鈞釉是對原型景泰藍作品的巧妙模仿。


文獻比較：


一件相近的瓷像，來自Malcolm MacDonald collection，編號DUROM.1969.358，收藏於英國杜倫大學東方博物館，見Ireneus Legeza，《A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics》，倫敦，1972年，頁122，編號72。另一件菩薩琺瑯瓷像，見Lou Pin-heng，《Precious Treasures of My Humble House》，台北，1988年，頁54，編號12。


拍賣結果比較：


形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港邦瀚斯，2008年5月29日，lot 578
價格：HKD 960,000（相當於今日
EUR 168,000
）
描述：清乾隆彩釉描金供佛菩薩瓷像
專家評論：比較非常相近的模像，相似的姿勢、臉部、底部、知更鳥蛋釉和鎏金裝飾。請注意非常相近尺寸 (29 釐米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2015年3月17日，lot 362
價格：USD 37,500（相當於今日
EUR 45,000
）
描述：清十八 / 十九世紀瓷胎金彩彩繪供養菩薩像
專家評論：比較非常相近的模像，相似的姿勢、臉部、底部、知更鳥蛋釉和鎏金裝飾。請注意類似的狀況問題：「頭飾的尖端有修補，人物左手的兩個手指和右手的拇指已經修補。」