A LARGE CARVED CINNABAR-LACQUER STUPA QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of characteristic form, the baluster body rising from a circular base to a tapering 'fire cone' neck culminating with a canopy embellished with gilt-copper beaded jewelry, surmounted by a gilt cintamani emblem, meticulously carved on the bulbous section with the bajixiang amidst dense lotus flower scrolls against a key-fret ground, the three-stepped base decorated with diaper-pattern lappets, the niche framed with gilt-copper and blue enamelled scrolls revealing a seated gilt-wood Buddha inside, all supported on an associated waisted pedestal further carved with lotus scrolls and decorative bands above four gilt-bronze mounted bracket feet

Acquired in Paris between the 1970s and the early 90s.

The opulence of this wonderfully large and ornately decorated stupa enhances its meditative and sacred nature and suggests that it was created to adorn the altar of a court temple. Stupa derive from ancient Indian burial mounds and were incorporated into Buddhism as containers of the relics of the Buddha and other holy figures as a reminder of his enlightenment and symbolic of his physical body and teachings. The stepped plinths represent the stepped form of Mount Meru, the centre of the Buddhist cosmos, while the layers of the tall conical spire symbolise the states of enlightenment.

In the present stupa the craftsman has incorporated traditional Chinese symbolism and decoration with the addition of further symbolic meaning. In Tibetan culture, red is a sacred colour as it is one of the colours of the five Buddhas and represents the fire of transformation from illusion to wisdom. The Chinese have long associated red with auspiciousness, happiness, beauty and royalty and thus the highly valued material of red lacquer made it particularly suitable for the creation of religious items. Together with the elaborate use of lotus scrolls, made popular in Chinese design from the 14th century, and the bajixiang, the resulting stupa embodies the richness of both tradition and religion while being contemporary to its time.

See a cinnabar stupa in the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, illustrated in Barabara Lipton and Nima Dorjee Ragnubs, Treasures of Tibetan Art, Collections of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, New York, 1996, p. 47, cat. no. 7. Compare also a similarly carved red lacquer stupa of larger dimensions, but lacking the gilt bronze jewelled canopy and the arch framing the niche and mounted on a rectangular stepped platform, sold in our London rooms, 4th May 1984, lot 242.