PLEASE NOTE HIS LOT IS NOW TO BE OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE. A LARGE CHINESE GILT AND LACQUERED BRONZE FIGURE OF SHANGQING

LATE MING DYNASTY

The seated deity wearing loose flowing robes decorated with cloud scrolls and geometric designs, with his hand held in front of his chest, his face with a serene expression, with his hair arranged in a topknot, framed by elongated earlobes and strands of a long beard, raised on a three-legged stand decorated with fierce animal masks, 18kg, 65.5cm.

Provenance: an English private collection, Surrey, UK; sold on behalf of Parkinson's UK.

Cf. Bonhams London, 12th November 2015, lot 93, for a related bronze figure, see also Christie's Hong Kong, 29th November 2005, for a comparable example of a Yuan dynasty figure.

Shangqing, also known as Lingbao Tianzun, is one of the Sanqing along with Yuqing and Taiqing. The Sanqing, or the 'Three Purities', are the Daoist Trinity and are regarded as the most important deities in the Daoist pantheon.