Lot 790. A gilt-bronze figure of a Daoist deity, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. Height 8 in., 20.3 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 20,000  USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

cast in a seated pose, one hand raised, once holding an attribute, the other resting on the knee, attired in voluminous robes, knotted at the waist with a braided cord and falling in crisp, rhythmic folds around the body, the tips of the shoes emerging from the drapery, the hair gathered up in a Daoist cap secured by a pin, the face well-articulated with arching brows over heavy-lidded downcast eyes, an aquiline nose, full lips drawn up in a quiet smile, and a long pointed beard, wood stand (2).

Provenance: French Private Collection, and thence by descent.

Note: A closely related gilt-bronze figure identified as Laozi and dated to 1438 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and illustrated in Denise Patry Leidy and Donna Strahan. Wisdom Embodied—Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, pl 38.

Sotheby's.  Important Chinese Art, New York, 11 september 2019