A rare moulded 'Longquan' celadon figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, China, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Estimate 5000/7000 €. Sold 5.000 €. Photo Nagel

the moulded deity seated in dhyanasana on a lotus throne raised on a tiered pedestal base, wearing a loose robe opened at the chest revealing a wan symbol and falling in folds over his legs and the base, the face with gentle smile and framed by curly hair, covered overall in a thick sage-green glaze save for the face, chest and hands reserved in the biscuit and fired orange. H. 25,8 cm. Very minor restorations

Property from a Dutch private collection

Note: cf. Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 166 - The World's Great Collections, Oriental Ceramics, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 190.Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, the Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 2002, pl. 385 - It is rare to find a 'Longquan' celadon shrine of this size. In the tradition of celadon figures, the face and hands have been left unglazed to allow for the application of pigment or gilding - Compare a slightly smaller two-tiered shrine illustrated in Julian Thompson, 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, November-December, 1993, front cover, and sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 615; and a similar example in the Charles Russell collection illustrated by R.L. Hobson et. al., Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, p. 187. A larger shrine from the Edward T. Chow collection, engraved with a date equivalent to 1385, is illustrated in Sheila Riddell, Dated Chinese Antiquities, 600-1650, London, 1979, pl. 11 

NAGEL. "Asian Art". Sale 722, 06/06/2015