明 鎏金銅多聞天王像

the guardian figure intricately cast standing with legs slightly apart, his right hand lowered in sikharamudra and his left arm raised supporting a stupa, dressed in impressive chain-mail armour with the shoulders adorned with fierce monster-mask epaulets, the belly belted with a wide waist band similarly decorated with a powerfully modelled animal mask, wearing a celestial scarf billowing in the wind and trailing down to his tall boots decorated with ruyi-shaped motifs, his face characterised by pronounced cheek bones and bulging eyes below furrowed eyebrows, gazing sternly at a distance, the neatly combed hair surmounted by an elaborate headdress in openwork, all raised on a kidney-shaped bronze stand modelled as a rocky base

There is a small loss to the tip of one finger on the hand holding the stupa. Oxidisation to the surface and general surface wear including rubbing to the gilding. The original red pigments are well preserved on the reverse of the crown.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This finely cast figure, depicted holding a stupa, represents Vaisravana, one of the heavenly kings residing in the temporal world to guard the four cardinal points and protect the Buddhist Law (dharma), his cardinal direction being the North. Guardian figures were originally placed on the four sides of stupas, guarding the Buddhist relics inside, but gilt-bronze sculptures of this form would have been produced for temples and principal places of worship.

Two smaller examples attributed to the Ming dynasty in the Fuller Memorial Collection, Seattle Art Museum, are illustrated in Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, New York, 1967, pls 93-94. See also a pair of large guardian figures sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1998, lot 7, and now in the collection of Compton Verney Art Gallery (accession no. CVCSC 0244.2.A).

The role of Vaisravana gradually became popularised as a folk deity and general protector. Woodblock prints of Vaisravana survive from the Five Dynasties period, reflecting the fear of being invaded by barbarians from the north. A woodblock print of Vaisravana dating to the Five Dynasties period was sold in these rooms, 30th May 2016, from the Mi Yun Hall Collection.