A PAIR OF GILT STUCCO TEMPLE FIGURES OF BODHISATTVAS, YUAN TO MING DYNASTIESChina, 1279-1644. Each modeled on iron armatures, standing with head slightly bowed and dressed in loose-fitting robes open at the chest, the plump face with downcast eyes, broad nose and delicate smiling mouth, the hair neatly dressed in a topknot and encircled by a diadem decorated with a rosette.Provenance: Sotheby's London, 9 November 2005, lot 518 (part-lot, together with another pair of similar figures), sold for GBP 6,240 or approx.EUR 11,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A European private collection, acquired from the above.Condition: Good condition with minor wear, expected minor age cracks, rubbing to gilt and pigments, tiny losses, minuscule nicks, light scratches.Weight: 1,598 g and 1,554 g (excl. stands)Dimensions: Height 33.6 cm and 34 cm (excl. stands)Each with a modern stand. (4)The Xiaoxitian (Little Western Paradise) Temple, as well as various other temples in Shanxi Province, is profusely decorated with wood and stucco sculptures which have been particularly well preserved, partly due to beneficial climate conditions in the area. The temples range in date from the Liao period through to the late Qing dynasty, and due to the fragile nature of the material were subject to renovation from time to time.An important innovation in temple construction during the Ming dynasty was the creation of molded clay and stucco backgrounds to the main altars. These backgrounds represented contemporary religious beliefs where sculptured figures of Buddhist and Daoist deities mingled and populated the heavens, creating a vision of paradise on earth within the confine of temple walls. One such floor-to-ceiling three-dimensional landscape from the Shuanglin Temple near Pingyao in Shanxi,believed to date from the 14th century, is illustrated in Ann Paludan, Chinese Sculpture: A Great Tradition, Chicago, 2006. pl. 324.Literatureparison:For similar figures in Xiaoxitian Temple, Xi County, see Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, Beijing, 1991, pl. 31. See also the Ming dynasty stucco figures of bodhisattvas in the Shuanglin Temple, illustrated ibid., pl. 172.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 16 March 2016, lot 360Price: USD 31,250 or approx.EUR 35,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pair of gilt-lacquered stucco figures of bodhisattva, Ming dynastyExpert remark: Note the larger sizes (44.5 cm)元至明一對鎏金灰泥菩薩像中國，1279-1644年。菩薩頭微低站立，身著寬大開襟長袍，臉龐豐滿，雙目低垂，高鼻闊嘴，略帶笑意，頭髮整齊盤起，束以冠冕，佩戴花飾。