Ming statue may fetch more than HK$60m in Sotheby's sale of art, timepieces and jewellery
A rare bronze Buddhist statue from the Yongle period (1403-1424) in the early Ming dynasty will take centre stage in Sotheby's Hong Kong Autumn Sales.
It is one of 1,340 lots of bronze and ceramic pieces, Chinese paintings, watches and jewellery to be auctioned next Friday to Monday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The bronze Shakyamuni Buddha, 72.5cm high, is one of only two Tibetan Buddhist relics from the imperial foundries to have survived intact since the early 15th century. The other one (59cm high) is in a museum in Britain. The statue, on a double lotus pedestal, rests on a throne base that was cast separately and is expected to sell for more than HK$60 million.
The statue is one of 15 in the Speelman Collection of important early Ming Buddhist sculptures featured in this auction. Each statue depicts deities from the pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism. They were commissioned as gifts for visiting officials and as deities for worship in temples and monasteries. Collector Jules Speelman had began acquiring the gilt bronze statues with his late father 30 years ago.
A rare pair of bronze dancing Buddhist statues from the collection is expected to draw bids in the region of HK$20 million to HK$30 million. A complex gilt bronze statue of the ferocious Vajrabhairava, with nine heads, 34 arms and 16 legs, and has exceptional detail, is estimated to sell for HK$18 million to HK$25 million.
There is also a rare blue and white jar, painted with six fruits symbolising blessings in Chinese culture. This Yongle period jar belonged to a European aristocrat and is similar to one in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics in Osaka. The last time a similar jar was auctioned, also by Sotheby's, was in 1967. An elegant recumbent lion carved out of translucent golden soapstone with the artist's (Yang Yuxuan) signature should sell for HK$12 million to HK$15 million, while a blue and white Chenghua palace bowl decorated with a musk mallow in full bloom is expected to fetch more than HK$30 million.