Ancient Chinese Bronze Guanyin in regal ease (Zizai Guanyin) – silvered bronze - 12.5 cm
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Current bid
€ 500
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by Sarah Le Helley
Studied Asian art and art market management; researched art in Taipei; worked in auctions.
Estimate € 4,300 - € 4,800
 | €500 |
|---|
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This Chinese bronze Guanyin in royal ease (Zizai Guanyin), titled “Bronze argenté”, dates to the late 17th or early 18th century, probably the Kangxi era of the early Qing dynasty.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Beautiful and expressive Chinese statuette of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) depicted seated in a posture of royal ease, called Zizai Guanyin, on a rock formation. This relaxed attitude, together with the lotus held before the divinity and the aquatic landscape evoked by the base, also brings the composition closer to the iconography of Guanyin of the Water and the Moon (Shuiyue Guanyin).
The deity presents a serene face with lowered eyes, a urna marked on the forehead, a high coiffure enveloped by a veil and a rich bodhisattva adornment. The garment falls in soft folds over the body and the rock, while the lotus flower adds a particularly decorative element to the overall appearance.
The statuette is made of a copper alloy, probably bronze, by hollow casting, as clearly shown by the interior accessible through the base. The surface bears a beautiful ancient dark patina contrasting with lighter metallic areas, presumably indicating remnants of an old silvering. This finish strongly contributes to the refined character of the sculpture.
The work can be located in China, at the beginning of the Qing dynasty, around the late 17th or early 18th century, in a stylistic horizon compatible with the Kangxi period.
It is accompanied by a very handsome independent wooden base sculpted in high relief with waves and aquatic motifs. This complements the composition particularly well and visually extends the rocky landscape on which Guanyin is seated.
Remarkable provenance: former collection of Georg Weifert (1850–1937), an important European industrialist and collector, then by family descendants. This provenance has been published previously for this statuette.
Condition: good overall considering age. Old stable patina, natural wear and occasional losses of the light-metal coating. No major restoration visible. The base also shows signs of use and minor wear consistent with its age.
Dimensions of the statuette alone: 10.5 × 8.2 × 5.3 cm.
Dimensions with base: 12.5 × 10.5 × 7 cm.
Total weight: 296.4 g.
A small-format piece but particularly seductive due to the quality of its modelling, its iconography, the contrast of surfaces, and especially its well-documented ancient provenance.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateBeautiful and expressive Chinese statuette of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) depicted seated in a posture of royal ease, called Zizai Guanyin, on a rock formation. This relaxed attitude, together with the lotus held before the divinity and the aquatic landscape evoked by the base, also brings the composition closer to the iconography of Guanyin of the Water and the Moon (Shuiyue Guanyin).
The deity presents a serene face with lowered eyes, a urna marked on the forehead, a high coiffure enveloped by a veil and a rich bodhisattva adornment. The garment falls in soft folds over the body and the rock, while the lotus flower adds a particularly decorative element to the overall appearance.
The statuette is made of a copper alloy, probably bronze, by hollow casting, as clearly shown by the interior accessible through the base. The surface bears a beautiful ancient dark patina contrasting with lighter metallic areas, presumably indicating remnants of an old silvering. This finish strongly contributes to the refined character of the sculpture.
The work can be located in China, at the beginning of the Qing dynasty, around the late 17th or early 18th century, in a stylistic horizon compatible with the Kangxi period.
It is accompanied by a very handsome independent wooden base sculpted in high relief with waves and aquatic motifs. This complements the composition particularly well and visually extends the rocky landscape on which Guanyin is seated.
Remarkable provenance: former collection of Georg Weifert (1850–1937), an important European industrialist and collector, then by family descendants. This provenance has been published previously for this statuette.
Condition: good overall considering age. Old stable patina, natural wear and occasional losses of the light-metal coating. No major restoration visible. The base also shows signs of use and minor wear consistent with its age.
Dimensions of the statuette alone: 10.5 × 8.2 × 5.3 cm.
Dimensions with base: 12.5 × 10.5 × 7 cm.
Total weight: 296.4 g.
A small-format piece but particularly seductive due to the quality of its modelling, its iconography, the contrast of surfaces, and especially its well-documented ancient provenance.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Culture
Ancient Chinese
Century/timeframe
Fin du XVIIe – début du XVIIIe siècle | Début de la dynastie Qing, époque Kangxi probable
Name of object
Guanyin in regal ease (Zizai Guanyin) – silvered bronze
Acquired from
Auction house
Year acquired
2020
Material
Bronze
Country acquired from
Austria
Condition
Very good
Previous owner acquired from
Private collection
Height
12.5 cm
Previous owner - year acquired
1937
Width
10.5 cm
Previous owner - country acquired from
United Kingdom
Depth
7 cm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Authenticity
Original/official
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