17TH CENTURY EXQUISITE BRONZE KYLIN WITH PUP 100% A (10/24/2008)...

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17TH CENTURY EXQUISITE BRONZE KYLIN WITH PUP 100% AUTH

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17TH CENTURY EXQUISITE BRONZE KYLIN WITH PUP 100% AUTH

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Sold Date: 10/24/2008
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

Fantastic Two Horned Bronze Kylin Sculpture 18TH Century China

The Kylin is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature. It is said to appear in conjunction with a sage, or only when the Middle Kingdom was in a time of great blessing. It is a good omen that brings Serenity and Prosperity. Although it looks fearsome, the Kylin only punishes the wicked. It can walk on grass and not trample a blade, and it can also walk on water. The Kylin is a sacred pet of the deities, and is highly ranked, second only to the Dragon and Red Bird of the South (mistakenly called a Phoenix). This Qing Dynasty bronze Kylin is of a mother and her young, playing on a mountain top. This wonderful example from the Early Ming Period was once a highly treasured and revered piece, as it definitely shows signs of burial and later repair and re-polish. Most likely cast in the late 17TH century, it displays the cruder casting, expected from a very early Ming piece. It was during this period that the Mongols were being over-run, and driven from the Kingdom by the true Chinese who had suffered so much under the Mongols' rule (it has been estimated that one third of the population had died during the Yuan Dynasty). The early arts of bronze, jade and pottery suffered for a short time as the new artists brought perfection back into their respective crafts. Almost all of the artisans that had flourished by helping the Mongols either perished in the ensuing war, or were driven from the Country, fleeing with the Mongols. Exquisitely formed and heavily cast bronzes followed this initial era of reformation. Early Jade workings of the period suffered in the same way, as the Kingdom was not spread out far enough yet to get the raw material from Turkanistan, and the artists had yet to re-learn the art of the previous master carvers; as such, their pieces are considered rarer, less refined in design, and lacking the extreme polish that is to be found in the middle Ming Dynasty items. The pottery arts also suffered, as the source of the fine Mohamadean Blue Cobalt took time to re-establish, and many early Ming Porcelains are found with a much lighter blue than is normally associated with the reign. This finely modeled bronze shows all the characteristics of the early period: the less refined, yet powerfully portrayed subject, the heavy casting, and the use of very high copper content bronze. The inside of this wonderful bronze still retains much of the original malachite and azurite it acquired from long term burial, and still has its original clay core. However, it will probably only TL test to the time of its repair around the bottom rim (to repair the minor, expected 'cancer' that occurred from moisture entering the burial place), as it was not soldered, but braised, which involves a very high temperature through the whole figure, not just a localized heat repair. Once the item is re-heated like this, the core loses any luminosity it had gained, and the 'Thermo-Luminesence Clock' is reset to zero. Original filing marks are still to be found on the bronze, along with the newer ones from repair. The repair should be considered as having been done in the 1800's era, as the natural patina on the repair indicate this. The entire piece soaked in acetone for over 4 days after I started to examine it, to determine if any of the expected Ming Dynasty blackish patina had been artificially applied; it had not, and the item came out of the test unchanged. So what you have is a wonderful bronze - lightly and professionally repaired - in a manner consistent with a buried period piece. This bronze is 3-7/8" high, 6-1/4" wide, and 4-1/2" deep.

In addition to my own inspection, this bronze has also been authenticated by Dr. Timothy Jones, PhD, Anthropologist, formerly with the University of Arizona. Dr. Jones has accepted invitations to the world's largest museum in Beijing, and has received privately guided tours of the Beijing Museum, which included some of the most treasured vault items hidden away from the general public. Dr. J...