A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

A CHINESE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF A GUARDIAN, LATE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Reference: ART1007629

This imposing guardian figure stands in martial posture with both booted feet apart but at the same time with his right slightly stepping forward on a shaped, rocky base. His right arm is stretched forward at abdomen level with the hand supporting an unidentifiable object. His left arm is lowered, ring finger pointed down and holding a long staff, it’s shaft finely carved with an ornament and topped with a tapering, slightly curved blade. His reddish lacquered, puffy face displays a stern, frowning expression, almost tending to become ferocious with the raised eyebrows above inlaid eyes, broad nose, firmly closed lips, pronounced chin and pendulous earlobes. The reddish face denotes his courageous temperament. His cheeks still see some traces of black paint, mostly likely denoting his beard. On top of his head is set a close-fitting cloth cap decorated to the front with some vertical incised lines central knotted ribbon while the sides and back see upturned sections. He wears a thigh-length, multi-layered armour engraved with a pattern ofchevrons suggesting scales above a pair of baggy trousers. Over the armour he wears a jacket with long sleeves. Carved with lines suggesting folds. A long tunic is visible under his scaled armour with the lower section at the back forming a triangular pleat as if blown by the wind or swirling due to an unexpected, menacing step of this guardian. All garments are secured with belts. As last a stole is covering both shoulders with its short streamers falling down. The figure is still partly painted with some scrolling. The backside ofthe figure displays a small rectangular cavity. This hollowing out of the wood had a dual significance; not only did it help the various sections wood to dry out more evenly and so avoid cracking, it also formed a hollow receptacle inside the figure into which ritual items could be placed. Traces of paint are still present and enhance the beauty of this sculpture. As the figure is taken out of its original context it will remain difficult to ascertain his iconographic identity. His simple cloth headgear, absence of lion masks on the armour and simple pointed staff suggests that he is not one of the guardian kings of the Buddhist faith. Also these latter often have billowing scarves draped around the shoulders that are absent here. Confucian temple guardians like Wei Tuo and even Guan Di wear more elaborate headdresses as to emphasize their importance. As this presented guardian figure is indeed topped with just a relative simple cloth cap he might occupy a less important position as a defender in the Confucian tradition. It is indeed known that ferocious looking guardians wearing armour and holding a variety of weapons were placed flanking a door entrance of a temple, which housed altars to ward off evil spirits. Perhaps this fine guardian is such an example and represents indeed such a door god for a temple or even house altar. This guardian figure is well-carved with a naturalistic eye, attention to detail and forms a delightful contrast to the considerable number of crude wooden sculptures made during the late Ming dynasty throughout the Qing dynasty, which are more commonly encountered.

Height 96 cm.

PROVENANCE Private collection, The Netherlands

CATALOGUE NOTE For a set of four wood guardians see A. & J. Speelman, ‘Oriental Sculpture & Works of Art, London 1999, pl. 12. Two bronze guardians are illustrated byChristie’s New York, ‘Fine Chinese Archaic Bronzes, Ceramics and Works of Art, 20 September 2002, Lot 187. For a stone pair of guardians see, Christie’s Paris, ‘Art d’Asie’, 26 November 2002, Lot 274.