Lot 16A
East Asia, China, Ming Dynasty, ca. 16th to 17th century CE. An impressive lacquered wood sculpture of the Taoist deity Hsuan Tien Shang-ti shown seated in a long robe with blue trim and gold-colored decoration. Also known as Xuanwi, Xuandi, or Zhenwu, the deity's waist is tied with a sash and his shoes turn upward as his hands show upward and downward karana mudras for expelling demons and warding off evil. Zhenwu sits in a dignified posture befitting his status as a celestial emperor, reflecting the title he received in 1304: Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven, Primal Sage, and Benevolent Majesty (Xuantian yuansheng renwei shangdi).A large figure such as this would have been crafted for worship in a temple or for the family shrine of a scholar or Chinese official. Hsuan Tien Shang-ti is known by numerous titles within China; he is best known to foreigners and laymen as the Northern Emperor, Pei Ti (Cantonese Pak Tai) or Chen Wu. Size: 12.5" L x 18" W x 32.5" H (31.8 cm x 45.7 cm x 82.6 cm)
According to the British Museum, "Zhenwu was the object of a state cult as protector of the Ming dynasty. Domestic peace and international security were the primary concerns of the early Ming emperors. The Yongle emperor attributed his success in the civil war to Zhenwu. During the Yongle reign, there were miraculous sightings of the god at Mount Wudang in north-western Hubei province, which was Zhenwu's sacred peak, and these visions were recorded in paintings and Daoist texts. These sightings were regarded as confirming Yongle's legitimacy as ruler. Zhenwu's worship was not confined to the court but was widespread among commoners.
From 1412 onwards, the Yongle emperor commissioned a major series of temples and shrines to be built on the summits of the highest peaks in the Mount Wudang area, in honour of Zhenwu and as a blessing for his mother and his father, the Hongwu emperor, who was the founder of the Ming dynasty. At the top of Mount Wudang, the Yongle emperor built Zijincheng (Purple Forbidden City), which had the same name as the Forbidden City in Beijing, the construction of which began in the same year. In 1416, he installed an image of Zhenwu in the Jindian (Golden Hall) in the Taihegong (Palace of Supreme Harmony) on Mount Wudang, which is similar in scale and appearance to this figure. "
Provenance: private Truchas, New Mexico, USA collection, acquired in 2004
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#189266
- Condition: Areas of old, inactive insect damage. Chipping and stable fissures to wood as well as age-commensurate nicks and abrasions. Otherwise intact with good remaining pigments and detail.
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