MING/EARLY QING DYNASTY, 15TH-17TH CENTURY

细节

AN UNUSUAL DATED GREY JADE FIGURE OF ZHENWU
MING/EARLY QING DYNASTY, 15TH-17TH CENTURY
Shown seated stiffly with both hands resting on the knees, the left hand held in karana mudra, wearing armor under layered robes that fall to the tops of his bare feet and are decorated below his court belt with a dragon roundel, his long hair combed smoothly down his back which has an oblong recess, the back of the base inscribed with a date corresponding to the 8th year of the Hongzhi reign (1496) followed by Zhu Yuan zao xiang (made by Zhu Yuan)
7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high, cloth box and wood stand

来源

Acquired in Hong Kong in the 1950s, and thence by descent within the family.

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拍品专文

Zhenwu rose to the height of his popularity during the Ming dynasty. The third Ming emperor, Yongle, credited Zhenwu with helping him secure the throne and ordered a massive temple building campaign at Wudang Shan, the place where Zhenwu is believed to have attained immortality and ascended to heaven. The loose hair and the bare feet are the two most salient indicators of Zhenwu's identity, the others being a tortoise and a snake, which are sometimes depicted underfoot, or entwined and placed in front of him.

According to records, in the ninth year of the reign of Chenghua, ninety-three images of Zhenwu were commissioned by the imperial household. Incomplete Ming dynasty records show that the imperial household had at least 369 images consecrated, attesting to the popularity of Zhenwu during this period.