Beschreibung:

Lot details Expert’s note: This seems to be by far the largest and most detailed of all early Tang dynasty gilt repoussé votive plaques that have been on the market in a long time. The extent to which this magnificent work of art was cherished by Hisazo Nagatani becomes best perceptible when one looks at the Japanese storage box in which this jewel was kept, with its outer casing, neatly inscribed and made from light wood and elegant red lacquer, the inner storage box with its abundant padding, tightly fitted to the exact dimensions of the plaque itself. China, 618-907, circa 7th century. The thin plaque finely decorated with the central figure of Buddha seated in dhyanasana atop an elaborate lotus throne growing from neatly incised waves flanked by two lions, his right hand raised in abhaya mudra and his left lowered in varada mudra, wearing loose-fitting robes cascading in voluminous folds, a flaming halo behind him and the bodhi tree towering above, flanked by two acolytes and surrounded by groups of worshipping monks and attendant bodhisattvas, all below swirling clouds and two flying apsaras. Provenance: From the collection of Hisazo Nagatani, and thence by descent within the family. The lacquered and padded wood box with an old label, ‘Gilt Bronze Slab’. Hisazo Nagatani (1905-1994) was a Japanese-American collector, scholar, and noted dealer of Asian art. Growing up near his birthplace Osaka, he developed a passion for Asian art early on and joined Yamanaka & Co. in 1922, at the age of only 17. He soon moved to Beijing, traveling throughout China, and handling bronzes, porcelains, jades, and other works of art, before relocating to the United States. He eventually became the manager of the Yamanaka gallery on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago until the firm had to cease operations in the United States. In 1944, he opened his own gallery, Nagatani & Co., which flourished for many decades, selling to such important collectors as Robert Mayer, Stephen Junkunc, Avery Brundage, and the Alsdorfs. Nagatani later donated many of his works of art and his important library to museums. Condition: Good and original condition, commensurate with age, displaying simply spectacularly. Extensive wear, tears and losses, minor dents, small nicks, light scratches. Fine, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustations to the front, the back with extensive malachite, cuprite, and azurite encrustations. The gilt remarkably well preserved overall. Weight: 303.2 g Dimensions: Height 24.4 cm (the plaque), Size 7 x 38.4 x 29.2 cm (the padded storage box) and 11 x 40.6 x 31.3 cm (the lacquered box) With a Japanese wood storage box, the inner silk padding fitted specifically for the present plaque, and an old Japanese lacquered wood box. (3) Literature comparison: Similar images of the Buddha seated under a roofed structure flanked by numerous bodhisattvas can be found in paintings from the Dunhuang caves, dated to the early 8th century, as evidenced by the fragment in the British Museum, illustrated by A. Farrer and R. Whitfield, Caves of the Thousand Buddhas: Chinese Art from the Silk Route, New York, 1990, page 24, no. 1 and cover. Compare, also, the gilt-bronze plaque in the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum, Kobe, dated to the Sui dynasty of significantly smaller size (15.4 cm. high) with similar imagery, but lacking the Bodhi tree, illustrated by S. Mizuno, Bronze and Stone Sculpture of China from the Yin to the T'ang Dynasty, Tokyo, 1960, fig. 123. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 March 2004, lot 74 Price: USD 17,925 or approx. EUR 27,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A small gilt-metal Buddhist plaque, Tang dynasty Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and subject with a similar depiction of the Buddha seated under a canopy surrounded by bodhisattvas and worshippers, as well as the similar tear line at the top. Note the much smaller size (9.2 cm).