A LARGE PAINTED STUCCO HEAD OF A GUARDIAN KING, SONG TO MING DYNASTY China, 12^th-16^th century. Wearing an elaborate headdress, centered by a scrolling and floral design, the mouth closed, the bulging eyes with black glass pupils within the deep sockets below furrowed brows, the full lips painted in pale pink, the brows, mustache, and beard are detailed in black against the beige-brown skin.

Provenance: Austrian private collection. Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 12 October 2007. Dr. Mons Fischer, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice, dated 12 October 2007, accompanies this lot. A seasoned private collector of modern and contemporary art, Dr. Mons Fischer has also acquired fine Chinese works of art since the 1980s, eventually building one of the most important collections of its kind in Austria.
Condition: Some repair and touchups with modern polychromes, all exactly as expected from a piece of this age and size. Old wear, natural age cracks, minor nicks and scratches, small losses here and there, wear to pigments, minor touchups, drilled holes from sample-taking. Overall still in outstanding condition.

Scientific analysis report: A detailed pigment and gilding analysis report, issued by Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P. SARL, Sciences des Matériaux Anciens et du Patrimoine - Etude des objets d’art, Nr. MSMAP 20-038 OA, dated 13 March 2020, is accompanying this object (please also see detailed scans of the report). The study reveals the presence of an ancient gilding and remains of an ancient polychromy on the sculpture. Repaints of a modern polychromy have been detected as well, see condition report.

Weight: 30 kg
Dimensions: Height 68.5 cm

With an associated base. (2) Literature comparison: Compare to a guardian figure retaining the original body, similarly modeled in stucco and painted in red, preserved in the Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong county, Shanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo siguan diaosu quanji – 3 – Lioa Jin Yuan siguan zaoxiang, Heilongjiang, 2005, no. 186. Compare also to a number of large stone guardian figures carved with similar grimaces and bulging eyes below a furrowed brow, dating to either the Northern Song or Southern Song dynasty, illustrated in Dazu shike diaosu quanji-Nanshan, Shimenshan, Shizhuanshan den shiku juan (The Complete Collection of the Stone of Sculpture of Dazu), Chongqing, 1999, pp. 19, 69-72, and 98, pls. 20, 72-75, and 104.

Auction result comparison: Compare with two closely related stucco heads, offered in one lot, one dated to the Northern Song dynasty (50 cm high) and the other dated Ming dynasty or earlier (56 cm high), at Christie’s Hong Kong, in Buddhist Art Under the Empire, on 9 July 2020, lot 2701, sold for HKD 812,500.

宋至明彩繪灰泥護法神頭像
中國, 十二至十六世紀。頭戴著精緻的冠盔，雙唇緊閉，眉毛下黑色玻璃瞳孔。精細彩繪眉毛、鬍鬚和嘴唇，生動形象。

來源：奧地利私人收藏。維也納 Zacke藝廊, 2007年10月12日。 Mons Fischer博士購於上述藝廊。隨附發票副本。Mons Fischer博士是一位經驗豐富的現代和當代藝術私人收藏家，從1980年代開始收藏中國藝術品，最終成爲奧地利中國藝術品重要收藏之一。
圖片：Dr. Mons Fischer 和他的妻子
品相：使用現代彩色塗料進行了一些修飾，完全符合其年齡。舊磨損，自然裂紋，輕微的划痕和缺口，局部小缺損，顏料磨損，少量補漆，因取樣產生的鑽孔。 總體而言，比較出色的。

科學檢測報告：隨附一份法國Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P 研究所顔料和金彩檢測報告副本，MS20-038號（請看報告細節），2020年3月13日，研究發現雕塑上存在古代金彩和古代顔料遺留， 還可以檢測到現代多色塗料的重塗，請參閱品相報告。

重量：30 公斤
尺寸：高68.5 厘米

底座。

拍賣結果比較：一組兩件非常相近的北宋 (高50 厘米)和明代或更早（高56厘米）的灰泥頭像見香港佳士得 Buddhist Art Under the Empire拍場2020年7月9日 lot 2701, 售價HKD 812,500.