A VERY LARGE SILVER 'LOTUS' STUPA, QIANLONG PERIOD, POSSIBLY IMPERIAL SILVER WORKSHOPS BEIJING

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A VERY LARGE SILVER 'LOTUS' STUPA, QIANLONG PERIOD, POSSIBLY IMPERIAL SILVER WORKSHOPS BEIJING Expert’s note: The technical precision, refined workmanship, and use of a precious material suggest that the present stupa was created as an altar furnishing for an imperial Buddhist temple or palace chapel, possibly even within the forbidden city. The extraordinary quality of the repoussé, chasing, punching, and incision work all unmistakably reveal the hand of the Imperial Workshops in Beijing. Such exceptional detail, combined with the remarkably high purity of the silver—approximately 967/1000—is entirely consistent with an imperial commission of the 18th century. Equally compelling is the rigorous conception of the work: both its architectural structure and iconography adhere closely to established imperial prototypes, including stupas executed in other precious materials in the Beijing workshops. Tibetan Buddhism enjoyed extensive patronage at the Qing court, reaching its height under the Qianlong Emperor, an avid practitioner who commissioned temples, images, paintings, and ritual objects—including stupas—for imperial shrines and as gifts to eminent Tibetan lamas. Such objects were fashioned from costly materials according to prescribed iconographic and ritual conventions under close court supervision. For stupas of similar form executed in other materials, see a gilt-decorated falangcai stupa, 41 cm high, dated to the Qing dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, reference number 中瓷003329N000000000; and a cloisonné stupa, 66.6 cm high, dated mid- to late 18th century, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1991.6. Metallurgy: Two XRF analyses, taken respectively from the base and the upper section, yielded silver contents of 96.5% and 96.9%, with the remainder consisting essentially of copper. This corresponds to an exceptionally high average silver fineness of approximately 967/1000. With a net weight of 1,793 g, the object contains approximately 1,734 g of pure silver. China, 1736-1795. Well cast, the globular body neatly chased in low relief with blossoming lotus borne on scrolling tendrils and pierced to one side with a large flame-shaped cartouche, all below a band of overlapping petal lappets to the shoulder. The body is surmounted by a flared collar divided into lotus panels and supporting a tapering spire composed of fourteen raised bands, further crowned by a broad parasol similarly decorated with lappets and topped by a bell-shaped finial, all raised on a lotus pedestal with finely articulated petals and beaded rims. Please note that the gilt bronze figure shown inside the stupa is not part of this lot. For the gilt bronze figure see lot 322. Dimensions: Height 38.7 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related Tibetan silver stupa, dated to the 18th century, 25.5 cm high, illustrated by Helmut Uhlig, On the Path of Enlightenment: The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zurich, 1995, no. 166. Compare a related red-lacquered stupa-shaped reliquary shrine, 64.2 cm high, in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 中漆000102N000000000. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Yu Jen, Taipei, 11 December 2010, lot 111 Price: TWD 7,080,000 or approx. EUR 290,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related form and material. Note the gilding, figural supports, and the similar size (40 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Bonhams London, 15 May 2014, lot 308 Price: GBP 18,750 or approx. EUR 31,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the form and material. Note the much smaller size (25 cm).

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