A MASSIVE ‘BODHISATTVA’ ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT, UNGLAZED POTTERY, MING DYNASTY China, 16^th-17^th century. Cast seated in dhyanasana on a lotus cushion with the hands lowered in dhyana mudra and holding a lidded vessel, wearing loose-fitting robes opening at the chest, with billowing scarves around his arms and behind his head. The elegant face with heavy-lidded eyes and full lips pursed to form a subtle smile.

Provenance: Collection of Georg von der Gabelentz and thence by descent. Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz (1840-1893) was a German linguist and sinologist. His Chinesische Grammatik (1881), according to one critic, “remains until today the finest overall grammatical survey of the Classical Chinese language.” His father was the more renowned minister and linguist Hans Conon von der Gabelentz, an authority of the Manchu language. Poschwitz Castle in Altenburg, present-day Thuringia, built in the 13^th century, was the home of the Gabelentz family for many centuries.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old weathering and wear, firing flaws, minor chips, light scratches. Few structural cracks. Minuscule losses. Few minor old repairs and touchups.

Weight: 15.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 41 cm

Expert’s note: This fitting may originally have served as the centerpiece of a lintel or gable, most likely with a major palace, temple or pagoda structure. The reverse shows two large circular apertures for mounting.

明代素燒菩薩陶像
中國，十六至十七世紀。菩薩結跏趺坐于蓮座上，雙手結禪定印，托寶瓶，著天衣，敞胸，頭後與手臂上飄帶飛揚。優雅寧靜的面容，雙眼微垂，豐滿的嘴唇抿成一個微妙的微笑。

來源：Georg von der Gabelentz 收藏，保存至今。Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz (1840-1893) 是德國語言學家和漢學家。 據一位評論家說，他的《漢語語法》（1881）“直到今天仍然是對古典漢語最好的語法研究”。 他的父親是著名的部長兼語言學家Hans Conon von der Gabelentz，他是滿語的權威。 位於阿爾滕堡（今圖林根州）的 Poschwitz 城堡建於 13 世紀，幾個世紀以來一直是 Gabelentz 家族的住所。
品相：狀況良好，與年齡相稱，有風化和磨損、燒製瑕疵、輕微碎屑與劃痕。少量結構裂縫與缺損，少量舊時維修和修飾。

重量：15.9 公斤
尺寸：高41厘米

專家注釋：這個造像最初可能是作為門楣或山牆的部分，很可能是宮殿、寺廟或寶塔内的。 背面有兩個用於安裝的大圓孔。