A GILT WOOD FIGURE OF KANNON BOSATSU

A GILT WOOD FIGURE OF KANNON BOSATSU
Japan, 17th-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Carved from cypress wood and assembled in yosegi-zukuri technique. Seated in dhyanasa top an elaborate hexagonal base carved with clouds, floral diaper, hanabishi, and rinzu designs. The hands are held in raigo-in (vitarka mudra). The serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched brows and a small glass-inlaid byakugo (urna) as well as full lips flanked by long pendulous earlobes. Her hair is piled in a topknot and adorned with a hokan (jewelled crown) and munakazari (ornamental necklace) in applied gilt-metal suspending glass beads.
HEIGHT 32 cm (the figure) and 49 cm (total)
Condition: Good condition with some wear, flaking and small losses to lacquer, minor losses here and there, natural imperfections including age cracks and signs of insect activity, minor old repairs, small chips, light surface scratches. The mandorla and sections of the base lost.
Provenance:
From the Langlois Collection. Jean-Marie-Charles Langlois (1896-1949) arrived in Vietnam in 1920, where he worked as an engineer for the Societe de Construction des Chemins de Fer Indochinois. He was the principal engineer for the Indochinese railways between 1920 and 1949. As a Sinophile who spoke fluent Mandarin, he built an important collection of Asian works of art. In 1949 he was imprisoned by the Viet Minh during a train attack and executed on the same day. His wife and two sons came back to France in Burgundy near Dijon, bringing Jean Langlois' collection with them. Once in France, his family continued to buy Asian works of art on the French art market, paying tribute to Jean Langlois's memory.