An inscribed copper alloy figure of Buddha, By Chen Yide, early Ming Dynasty

Philadelphia Private Collection.

This exquisite figure is notable for its fine casting and gilding, as evidenced in the naturalistically modelled folds of the robes and in the figure’s serene facial expression. Stylistically it follows in the tradition established in the Yuan period, when Tibetan Buddhism became the court religion and a new sculptural style began to appear. Figures with gently smiling faces, full rounded bodies and tiered thrones are depicted in the early 14th century woodblocks made for the monastery of Yanshen Yuan, Hangzhou, and illustrated in Heather Stoddard Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, Warminster, 1975, pls 26, 29 and 30. It is possibly these images, which reflect the style favored in Tibet at the time, that craftsmen active in the early 15th century used for inspiration. 

This piece is also notable on account of its inscription, which identifies its maker as Chen Yide. Little is know about Chen Yide, the only other recorded example appearing to be a gilt-lacquered bronze figure of Buddha, depicted as an ascetic, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1382. Chen Yanqing, however, whose inscriptions also note his town as Qiantang, is a sculptor who appears to have been active in Hangzhou in the early 15th century. It seems likely that their work all emanates from a similar workshop in Qiantang.

A larger example of a Shakyamuni Buddha signed Chen Yanqing, from the collection of Jas R. Herbert Boone, was sold in these rooms, 18th/19th April 1989, lot 150A. See also a gilt-bronze figure of Zhenwu signed Chen Yanqing and dated 1439, from the collection of Robert Sonnenschein II, now in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated in Stephen Little, Taoism and the Arts of China, Berkeley, 2000, pl. 103; and one depicting Laozi and dated 1438, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in Daisy Patry Leidy and Donna Strahan, Wisdom Embodied. Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, pl. 38.

A closely related but slightly larger gilt-bronze figure of Buddha, inscribed Qiantang Chen Yanqing Zao (Made by Chen Yanqing, from Qiantang) was sold in our London rooms, 8th November 2017, lot 67. See also a rare gilt-bronze figure of Yuanshi Taizu, by Chen Yanqing, sold in these rooms, 23rd March 2022, lot 252, and now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (accession no. 2022.24).