A RARE AND IMPORTANT GILT AND POLYCHROMED ZITAN FIGURE OF MAHAKALA, 16th – 17th CENTURY Zitan with gold lacquer and polychrome hand paintingTibeto-Chinese, 16th – 17th century Seated in lalitasana atop a human corps the wrathful deity is shown in his four-armed version. His main hands hold a kapala and a curved knife, a sword is to be seen in his right hand. The deity is wearing a skull crown with a central cobra and precious jewelry. The face is exquisitely gilt and hand painted with special focus on the three eyes. An ornate aureole is framing the sculpture and bears XXX script as well as remnants of an old seal on the backside. The present work is carved entirely from zitan, a hardwood from India that was exported to China in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. While zitan is a general term which includes numerous species of wood, it is commonly agreed that it belongs to the genus Pterocarpus. A purplish-black, fine-grained hardwood, zitan was considered the most prized hardwood by the Chinese. The density of the wood makes this material especially suitable for fine and intricate carving. Due to its slow-growing nature, zitan often was only available in small quantities, and by the Qianlong period (1736-1795), its use was controlled by the emperor himself. Only few works of sculpture in zitan are known, although the precious nature of the wood meant it would have been an appropriate material for an object of worship. Shape: Figural Weight: 111 grams Dimensions: Height 28 cmCondition: good condition with appealing authentic patina, gilding and paint work very well preserved, material loss as seen in the images Provenance: Hungarian private collection Auction results comparison: For a closely related polychromed Zitan figure of SIMHANADA MANJUGHOSHA see Christie’s, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, New York, 12 September 2018, lot 324.罕見的重要鎏金紫檀大黑天像,十六至十七世紀紫檀,金漆,手繪上彩漢藏,十六至十七世紀護法神大黑天以休閑坐姿于尸人之上,四臂雄壯。他一手拿著一个嘎巴拉碗和一把彎刀,右手持劍。大黑天頭戴頭骨冠,中央盤踞著一條眼鏡蛇以及珍貴的珠寶。臉部精美的鎏金和三眼手繪上彩獨特。一個華麗的光環表現爲造像外框,背面貼著XXX以及舊印章的遺余。造像完全是用來自印度的紫檀木雕刻而成,紫檀在明末清初出口到中國。雖然紫檀是一個包括許多木材種類的通用術語,但人們普遍認為它屬於紫檀屬(Pterocarpus)。紫檀是一種紫黑色細粒硬木,是中國人認為最珍貴的硬木。木材的密度使這種材料特別適合精細和復雜的雕刻。由於其生長緩慢,紫檀通常只能少量供應,而在乾隆時期(1736-1795),它的使用是由皇帝控制的。木材的珍貴本質意味著它將成為重要物品的材料,只有少數雕塑造像被人所知。 造型:人物造像重量:111 克 尺寸:高 28 厘米品相:狀況良好,包漿真實,鎏金和彩繪部分保存良好,局部材料損失。如圖所見。 來源:匈牙利私人收藏拍賣結果比較:一件相似的紫檀多彩綠文殊像見Christie’s, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, New York, 12 September 2018, lot 324.