Ming Dynasty 15th or 16th Century Chinese Glazed Terracotta Funeral Table Mingqi

A Chinese Ming dynasty period glazed terracotta funeral table mingqi from 15th-16th century with food and drinks. Created in China during the Ming Dynasty, this terracotta funeral table showcases a typical Chinese altar, painted in green with tempera and adorned with a lovely variety of modeled and painted miniature food and drinks such as cakes. Called Mingqi, these kinds of terracotta models were traditionally placed in Chinese burials...

A Chinese Ming Dynasty period temple roof tile from the 17th century, with turquoise glaze, bird and flower motifs. Created in China during the Ming Dynasty which ruled from 1368 to ...

A Chinese Ming Dynasty period temple roof tile from the 17th century, with turquoise finish, bird and flower. Created in China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), this ancient templ...

A Ming dynasty period 15th or 16th century painted stone sculpture of the Bodhisattva of Compassion Guanyin in a seated position. Created in China during the Ming dynasty, this marble statue features Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, depicted in a seated position, wearing a large Chinese monastic dress and a headscarf. Her clothes are accented with the red color that is characteristic of Guanyin representations. The drapery demonstrates the undeniable mastery of the Chinese stone carving...

A petite Chinese Ming Dynasty glazed pedestal from the 15th or 16th century with polychrome finish. Crafted in China during the prestigious Ming Dynasty, this petite pedestal table c...

A Chinese Ming Dynasty period miniature terracotta armoire with green glazed finish and bracket feet. Created in China during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), this miniature terracott...

An unusually large Chinese Ming Dynasty glazed pottery architectural model of a shrine or cabinet, Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), circa 16th century, China. The shrine model crafted o...

Bronze in its color and gold, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, enamel. In the centre of the work is presented, enthroned, the figure of Mary, with a mantel (fireplace) on her shoulders and hair and holding on her knees the child, who appears addressing one of the angels. The virgin is also sheltered by an ogee arch supported on turned columns, and raised visually by steps. This composition achieves a very striking contrast: the dark bronze figure, in contrast to the lapis lazuli background and the part of the arch and the outside of it, in gilded bronze. Under the steps there is a heraldic enamel shield with a key on an azure background. The angels, kneeling, are flanking this figure, and, appearing in dark bronze, visually share the "category" of religious figures with Mary, while their (lower) position gives more status to both the Mother and Jesus. The rest of the composition is completed with a delicate landscape: constructions and walls on mountains, clouds in the sky, plants, stones, etc. To the outside, another lapis lazuli frame is placed decorated in the corners with appliques, giving way to carved and polychrome wood. The lapis lazuli is a semiprecious stone already known in the seventh millennium BC., found in deposits from the Caucasus to Mauritania. From the end of the middle ages, it increased its export to Europe, its use being more frequent since then both to use it as a pigment in paintings after grinding it (giving rise to the finest and most expensive of the blues, and of the colors in many occasions), as for backgrounds of paintings, incrustations in works of art, jewelry and, a little later, in the well-known "hard stone works". The figure of Mary still shows an influence of Gothic models, although more European than Italian, along with elements that could already show a closeness to the Renaissance: although the nakedness of Jesus is already shown in Gothic works (Madonna with Angels by Fra Angelico ), the creation of space by playing with the cloth in front of Christ can be appreciated in more advanced paintings (Virgin with Child by Domenico Ghirlandaio, National Gallery of London); the presence of a powerful throne can be seen frequently in Italian Madonnas of the Quattrocento (and before), but not quite as presented here. As for the landscape, it is necessary to compare it, for example, with that of the fresco of the Condotiero Guidoriccio de Fogliano (Simone Martini, finished in 1328). This is a work of great technical and aesthetic quality, not to mention the materials chosen for its creation, comparable only to outstanding examples from around the world, such as those preserved in the Palazzo Madama in Torino (Italy), where the coral It also has an important role. It is essential to mention, also, works such as the plate of hard stones (lapis lazuli between them) with a relief of Mary with the Child in...

Bucket burns perfume in bronze resting on three feet. The body is sculpted with a band frieze with an archaic motif. Two inverted U-shaped handles punctuate the edge. This type of bronze bucket was cast with lost wax from molds in several parts and assembled when the piece was poured, these are the traces that can be seen on the back of the bucket. . The bronze has a beautiful green and dark gray excavation patina. This perfume burner was originally to have longer feet, no doubt arched, cut very long ago since the place of the cut has the same patina as the rest of the piece. China Zhou Dynasty...

A large and unusual Himalayan bronze and mixed metal nine prong vajra featuring wrathful faces. In the style of the Tangut (Western Xia) Kingdom (1038 to 1227), but probably later, most likely 15th-16th century. The body of the vajra crafted from a copper alloy, with five wrathful faces on either side and gold and silver inlays to the center. The prongs crafted of iron, with each side having eight prongs arcing outwards around a central prong before coming back to a copper alloy point. The vajra is meditational tool...

Flemish hand embroidery from the 15th to 16th century adorns this chasuble fragment, depicting scenes of the Virgin Mary Madonna and child amidst a garden setting. Created with lavis...

An Italian wooden ship model of a 15th/16th century galleon, from the early to mid 20th century. This three-mast schooner model, when given a closer look, reveals the minutia in the details, from the beautifully carved stern and rudder, mermaid figurehead, cannon/gun-ports, the bow sprit, masts, flags, and dangling anchor. This tall ship model...