Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty - image-1
Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty - image-2
Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty - image-1Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty - image-2

Lot 81 Dα

Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty

Auction 1235 - overview Cologne
08.12.2023, 11:30 - India/Southeast Asia, Tibet/Nepal, China, Korea and Japan
Estimate: 20.000 € - 24.000 €
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Two young adorants. Stucco (clay and straw), polychromed. Ming dynasty

Standing on a wooden plinth, hands held in front of the chest covered by a piece of cloth and supporting a square respectively a round box. Both figures wear a coat over a long robe, the tiny shoes peeking out from under the hem identify the figures as girls, as well as the pierced earlobes with a wire for the now-lost ear ornaments. The hair is partly tied at the back of the head, the other part falls down over the nape. A few losses.
Height with base 75 cm

These figures most probably come from Shanxi. The province was a centre for the production of clay figures, whether fired and glazed or unfired and cold-painted. The sculptures from the temples Jinci Shengmudian 山西晉祠聖母殿 and Shuanglinzi 雙林寺 of the Ming dynasty are well-known and show similarities in the way the faces are rendered. The present images can possibly be identified as the female companion figures of Shengmu 聖母 (Holy Mother).

明 泥塑侍女像一對
來源：柏林私人收藏，1998年3月27日購於紐約Carole Davenpor (附帶收據)

Provenance

Private collection, Berlin, purchased from Carole Davenport, New York, 27.3.1998 (receipt available)

Literature

Cf. Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, Beijing 1991