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Hello,
I have had this little bronze for a while now. I've kept it because I think it's quite charming. It's in the style of a song guanyin, pocket size, fit's in the hand nice and neatly. The space between the right arm and body was filled and painted over in a different gold colour, I took out the filling (see last photo).
Does anyone have a good knowledge of bronzes like these? Could it be Song or is it perhaps later?
thanks in advance,
Tom
Hi Thomas,
Whilst I am by no means a expert on chinese bronzes I feel your example is a modern interpretation.
Of particular concern is the base with that smooth looking inside. My understanding is that the older ones were more roughly done on the inside. The later 20th century ones were more smooth.
Perhaps if @xin_fawis logs in he can give you his opinion. He is very knowledgeable about bronzes.
Mark
Mark seems to have picked up on the problem area… the inner base.
I see remnants of sand. Early techniques used clay molds, so there should be no sand.
Very interesting. Can you post more better photos? I also need detail photos from the inner side. Any nail like rust spot inside?
www.wyssemaria-art.com
[email protected]
@xin_fawis Hi Xin, Yes strangely there is a staple or two, going through the bronze. One seemed to be connecting the figure to the base. The staple broke off and has left a rust mark. Is this a repair? how can a staple penetrate bronze?
many thanks,
Tom
Hi Tom,
Iron pins or nails are used as spacer for casting. It's a very traditional method. You can often find this kind of rust residue inside the bronze figure. Of course forgers know that too. They also copy this feature to fool collectors.
The quality of the bronze is good, but the gold gilt is strange. Also the shape of the base is unusual.
You have a very interesting piece and I'm interested in studying it. It will be a big pleasure for me, if you can share more (HD) photos with us/me. I want to see more details of it.
Thank you 🙂
Xin
www.wyssemaria-art.com
[email protected]
@xin_fawis Thanks Xin, for taking an interest. There is something that seems special about it. However I am not an expert on these. Here are some more photos of the areas that had or have staples. and some other photos. The only thing that seems a bit unusual is the rendering of the gilt. The gold seems to have lines in it (especially on the base), that could be worn down brush marks? or perhaps it's just the texture of the bronze, that has lines in it and the proud areas have been worn away? Traditionally they would have mixed gold with mercury, then heated it to evaporate the mercury leaving the gold finish, I think? so I'm not totally sure about the texture of the gilt. But it seems a good colour. The pitting looks right. The green patination looks right. Here's a link to one from the Met Museum.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54083
This is the closest I can find to the gilt gold texture:
Hi Tom,
I talked to a friend who is an expert of Buddist art. We doubt the authenticity of this bronze figure. A lot of details are not right. You mentioned the gilt method with mercury. It's correct. But the gilt or gold colour on this figure is not done with the traditional method. You also mentioned the texture on the back. That's the hint. About the casting quality, the inner side doesn't have the right texture. Usually the inner surface is cleaner (but not smooth) and has a special texture which I'm not able to decribe it due to my limited language skills. Sorry for that. I saw the iron spacer staples on your photos. Outside the figure these staples are always smoothed. Mostly you find small smoothed points (round or square shape) on the surface or nothing, but not like the ones on yours. It is just our opinion. You may find someone who can tell you more about it.
Hope these information can help you.
Kind regards,
Xin
www.wyssemaria-art.com
[email protected]
And another hint. The shape of the base is very odd. Mostly there is no such box like base directly casted together with the figure. You posted a good example from Lempertz. You see there is no such base, only the Guanyin.
www.wyssemaria-art.com
[email protected]
@xin_fawis Thanks Xin for your help
@xin_fawis How old do you think it could be. I've been looking for similar examples with a box base. Here are a few:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/important-chinese-art-n09477/lot.375.html
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/arts-dasie/lot.44.html
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/65397
You sometimes see lines in the gilt gold in bronze Tara's. I'm wondering if it's possible if its the tooling marks, that have worn to reveal the ridges in the bronze, rather than it being brush marks ( it doesn't really look brushed, more the texture of the bronze, the lines are too deep). There are also areas with a more uniform texture, such as around the knees. Here are a few examples of Tara's with a similar texture:
https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5926167
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5473030
https://globalnepalimuseum.com/objects/a-gilt-bronze-figure-of-a-standing-tara/
The most convincing signs of age on the guanyin is the patina, the green areas around the hair. It looks authentic to me. your finger naturally rubs this area when you hold it in your hand, to support the head. The areas that are worn are consistent with how it sits in the hand, depending if it's held in the right hand or left hand. This is also convincing of age to me.
Seems Xin Fawis has left the building ...
@xin_fawis Here are some photos of the texture of the bronze / gilt. It looks like the lines aren't brush marks, but the texture of the bronze, so maybe tooling marks. Or perhaps deep scratches. I think it might be possible the gilt was applied using the mercury method, or the same method used on the gilt tara's in the link above.
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