Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Decorative Arts and Jewellery
Live Virtual Auction, 11 - 12 October 2021
Oriental Works of Art, Jewellery, Silver and Furniture
Lot Estimate
ZAR 300 000 - 400 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 409 680
About this Item
An impressive large carved Chinese giltwood figural group of the Four Heavenly Kings, 19th century
carved in high relief with a seated emperor flanked by four free standing Heavenly Kings, each holding his attribute, the emperor with black hair beard seated on a rocky throne, his left foot resting on a tortoise and his right on a snake, his knees and stomach adorned with fierce masks, his right hand holding the hilt of a sword, his left hand supporting a skirt in the form of a scaly fish, the robed and chainmail guardian to his left with a third eye holding a tablet in his left hand, the figure below holding a ring in his left hand and a halberd in his right, his stomach adorned with a dragon mask, the guardian on the right side of the emperor with black hair beard holding a chain in his right hand and an orb in his left, the lower guardian with black hair beard holding a mace and his hand in mudra, the foreground with a barefooted figure holding a chain in his left hand, the reverse of the throne with two silk and gilt thread standards and a cylindrical and square pole, each carved with archaic script, each figure on a rocky outcrop heightened with foliate motifs, the whole supported on a stepped eight-sided ornate balustrade carved with eight precious Buddhist emblems, the lower section carved with rectangular and square foliate panels, raised on eight bat-headed cabriole legs and scroll feet, on a shaped platform, minor losses and repairs, signed, 142cm high, 78cm wide, 49cm deep