AN EXPRESSIVE WOOD BUDAI, MINGChina, 15th - 16th century. This earthy yet radiant sculpture of Budai shows the laughing Buddha leaning against his huge cloth sack counterbalancing his protuberant belly. Hardwood Budai statues from this period are EXTREMELY RARE.Provenance: From a British private collection. By repute in the same family since the late 1930s. Condition: The original lacquer coating is almost entirely worn off since a long time ago, revealing the beautiful grain of the wood. Budai may have held an attribute in his left hand which is now lost. The patina is naturally grown and, almost like a fingerprint, non-imitable, hence absolutely unique to this statue. The thickened lacquer coating circling the neck may look like a cover for a restoration at first sight but is determined as intentional after close inspection. The statue is therefore in an untouched original and therefore very rare condition.Weight: 2036.2 grams.Dimensions: Height 25 cm.Budai was a Chinese monk named Qieci who is said to have lived around the 10th century. He traveled from town to town, spreading laughter and joy wherever he went. He pulled sweets from his sack for children, food for the hungry, rice plants for the poor and medicine for the sick. He was a man of few words but plenty of smiles. He left a larger-than-life legacy and became a folklore deity of contentment and abundance. Chinese Buddhists consider Budai an incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha who is believed to eventually take Gautama's place. For some, this belief stemmed from Qieci's dying words, a Buddhist hymn attributed to Maitreya. For others, it was due to his nature of benevolence and devotion to helping others. His actions of selflessly taking on the burdens of the world were considered the ultimate path to Zen and enlightenment.明代木雕布袋和尚中國,十五至十六世紀。布袋和尚笑嘻嘻的靠在他的大布袋上,頂著他的大肚子。 來自這個年代的硬木雕像及其罕見。來源:英國私人收藏,據説1930年代后一直保存在同一家族中品相:原始漆層很久以前就已剝落,露出美麗的木紋。 布袋的左手中原來可能有一物件,現在已丟失。包漿自然生成,如指紋一般不可模仿,更加體現雕像的獨特性。 環繞頸部的增厚漆層看起來像是因爲修復而來的覆蓋物,但在仔細檢查後被確定為有意的。因此,雕像是原始的,非常罕見。重量:2036.2 克尺寸:高25 厘米