A LAPIS LAZULI SEATED FIGURE OF BUDDHA, CHINA, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY
Finely carved seated in dhyanasana on a double lotus base with his right hand lowered in bhumisparsha mudra and the left in dhyana mudra, wearing a voluminous robe falling down the body in naturalistic folds. The contemplative face with downcast eyes and gentle smile, below the hair formed from rows of snail-shell curls encircling the domed ushnisha. The stone of an intense, striking blue hue amid veins in various shades of gray beneath glimmering mica flecks.


Provenance:
Central London trade, United Kingdom.

Condition:
Very good condition with expected old wear, minor nicks and losses. The stone has natural inclusions, fissures and veins, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 1,782 g
Dimensions: Height 19.3 cm

The base finely incised with a four-character mark Qianlong yuzhi.


Lapis lazuli was highly prized during the Qianlong era and subsequent period
, as evidenced by a pair of Qianlong period stone lions dyed to imitate the stone, included in the exhibition ‘Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court’, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. Nos. 71 and 72, and a Qianlong period lapis lazuli mountain in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Michael Knight, He Li and Terese Tse Bartholomew, Chinese Jades, San Francisco, 2007, plate 354. The stone was mostly imported from Afghanistan, and was used principally for carving vessels, figures in relatively small sizes and boulder or grotto carvings, often with solitary luohans. Buddha figures, such as the present lot, were often made for imperial altars during the late 18th century and onwards.


Literature comparison:

Examples of lapis lazuli figures of Buddha are illustrated in Buddhist Art from Rehol, Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taipei, 1999, no.81, and by M. Knight, He Li and T. Tse Bartholomew, Chinese Jades, San Francisco, 2007, no. 327, dated to the 18th century. Compare a closely related lapis lazuli figure of Buddha, dated 18th century, exhibited by the Oriental Ceramic Society at Bonhams London, Reginald and Lena Palmer, their Collection, and the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1921-1970, 27 October 2021.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 25 June 2013, lot 8009
Price: USD 52,500 or approx.
EUR 63,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved lapis lazuli figure of the Buddha
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, with similar robes and seated pose, manner of carving, and stone with similar mica flecks and gray veins. Note the absence of a lotus pedestal and the size (18 cm).




十八至十九世紀青金石坐佛像

釋尊結全跏趺坐於蓮花座之上，頭頂高肉髻，螺髮密集，頂嚴雙珠，分明嚴整。眼長眉彎，雙目低垂，呈微笑慈悲和善之態；身著漢式雙肩袈裟，袒露前胸，內著僧祇支，胸襟束帶繫結，衣紋俐落流暢。左手置腹前，施禪定印，右手施觸地印，青金石中雲母斑點閃爍，藍色艷麗。


來源：
英國倫敦私人收藏。

品相：
狀況非常好，有磨損、輕微劃痕。青金石有天然包裹體、裂隙和紋理，有的已發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：1,782 克
尺寸：高 19.3 厘米

底座刻“乾隆御製”四字款。


文獻比較：


幾件相近的十八世紀青金石雕佛陀坐像，見Buddhist Art from Rehol，《Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde》，台北，1999年，編號81。M. Knight，He Li和T. Tse Bartholomew，《Chinese Jades》，舊金山，2007年，編號327。比較一件非常相近的十八世紀青金石雕佛陀坐像，展覽於東方陶瓷協會，見倫敦邦瀚斯， 2021年10月27，Reginald和Lena Palmer收藏，1921-1970年。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：舊金山邦瀚斯，2013年6月25日，lot 8009
價格：USD 52,500（相當於今日
EUR 63,500
）
描述：十八世紀青金石雕佛陀坐像
專家評論：比較相近的模組、相近的長袍和坐姿、雕刻風格 。請注意此像沒有蓮座和尺寸 (18 釐米)。