A marble figure of Buddha with champleve enamel mandorla and stand, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century

The present figure of Buddha belongs to a group of devotional figures carved from various hardstones and adorned with inlaid gilt-metal details, which are believed to have been commissioned for the Qing court, possibly for use in Jehol (present day Chengde), the summer resort of the Manchu emperors. A lapis lazuli example of this type enclosed within a shrine was included in the exhibition Buddhist Art from Rehol. Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, The Chang Foundation and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei and Kaohsiung, 1999, pl. 81. A jade example in a shrine in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Monarchy and its Buddhist Way. Tibetan-Buddhist Ritual Implements in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, cat. no. 29; and a further jade example formerly in the George Crofts Collection is in the Royal Ontario Museum (accession number 82721.524). Compare also a related jade figure of Buddha with champlevé enamel mandorla and stand, sold in our London rooms, 15th October 1974, lot 37; and lapis lazuli example offered at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 858.