Lot 115. A rare pale green jade carving of Buddha and a stand, 18th-19th century; 20.6cm (8 1/8in) high. Estimate £15,000-20,000. Sold for £68,500 (€ 76,657). Photo: Bonhams.

Intricately carved from a lustrous and attractive stone of pale green tone, the Buddha seated cross-legged in dhyanasana on a double-lotus pedestal, with downcast eyes and a serene expressive below an ushnisa formed with tightly coiled curls topped by an urna, dressed in a flowing robe draped in rounded folds at the front, the hands folded and clasped in his lap holding a bell-shaped shrine with a prominent tiled roof containing a miniature seated Buddha in the niche, fitted box. (2)  

Provenance: acquired from King Koo Chai, Shanghai, 30 March 1936, with receipt signed by Mr. K.K.Chai and Mr. E.T.Chow
A European private collection.

Note: Buddhism flourished during the Qing dynasty, as the early Manchu sympathies with Mongolian Buddhism prior to their conquest of China expanded to embrace Tibetan Lamaism also. The reigns of the three great Qing emperors, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in particular, witnessed a great resurgence of Tibetan Buddhist patronage. Not merely for the sake of political expediency, the Qianlong emperor took an enthusiastic personal interest in the religion, and fostered the devotions of his mother, the empress Xiaoshen, with lavish commissions of Buddhist sculptures and paintings for occasions such as her birthday.

The present lot expresses this imperial interest in Buddhist art in the most favoured Chinese medium of jade. Carved with exceptional skill, undoubtedly impressive but still exhibiting intimacy and meditative calm, it could have graced the personal rooms or an imperial altar in one of the palaces.

Compare a very similar jade figure of Buddha in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Beijing, 2008, pl.171.

A closely related jade figure of Buddha, 18th century, was sold in these Rooms on 8 November 2012, lot 3.