Large Gilt Bronze Figure of Xiwangmu
S O L D
Large Gilt Bronze Figure of Xiwangmu . The Daoist Queen Mother of the West sits with both feet pendent holding the Peaches of Immortality (pantao) in both hands. She is dressed in heavy robes, and wears a phoenix-form headdress.
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century.
Height 32,5 cm.
Provenance:
The Royal Ontario Museum till 1969
From a Single Owner Canadian Collection, featuring objects, Deaccessioned from the Royal Ontario Museum in 1969
Auction result comparison: For a closely related gilt bronze figure of Xiwangmu, sharing the near identical facial features see, Christie’s New York, Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art part I, 17 – 18 March 2016, lot 1422 sold for $7500, – Please see picture # 17.
* The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. The first historical information on her can be traced back to oracle bone inscriptions of the fifteenth century BC that record sacrifices to a “Western Mother”. Even though these inscriptions illustrate that she predates organized Taoism, she is most often associated with Taoism. From her name alone some of her most important characteristics are revealed: she is royal, female, and is associated with the west. The growing popularity of the Queen Mother of the West, as well as the beliefs that she was the dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss took place during the second century BC when the northern and western parts of China were able to be better known because of the opening of the Silk Road.
