Lot 118. A large gilt-lacquered bronze figure of a seated Buddha, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); 40cm (15 6/8in) high. Sold for £35,580 (Estimate £15,000-£20,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

The benevolent figure finely cast, the face in a meditative expression with downcast eyes flanked by pendulous earlobes, crowned by tightly curled hair rising to a high chignon, seated cross-legged with both hands held in dhyana mudra, wearing a long layered robe decorated on the hems with delicate foliate scrolls, open at the chest revealing a wan emblem.

Provenance: Sir Michael Oppenheimer (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020) and Lady Helen Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022), and thence by descent.

Note: The collection belonged to Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020). Sir Michael's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire. The Chinese art collection can be, at least in part, traced back to Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, home to the Harvey Baronets from 1788 until 1945, as demonstrated in a pre-1945 photograph showing Lot122, the cloisonné enamel tripod 'elephant' incense burner, Qianlong.

Sir Michael Oppenheimer's paternal family was the well-known South African mining family. The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Bernard Oppenheimer, Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The family has been involved with De Beers over many decades. Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relationships.

A similar gilt-bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, 16th/17th century, in the Chang Foundation, is illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, pp.32-33, no.9.

Compare with a similar gilt-bronze figure of the Medicine Buddha, late Ming dynasty, sold at Bonhams London, 17 May 2018, lot 127. Compare a related example of a gilt-bronze figure of Medicine Buddha, late Ming dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 8 November 2017, lot 76. See also a slightly larger gilt-bronze figure of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha, Ming dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2014, lot 3060.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 3 November 2022, London, New Bond Street