Chinese Bronze Figurine Daoist Deity Bixia Yuanjun Phoenix Headdress Ming 16th C

Chinese Bronze Figurine Daoist Deity Bixia Yuanjun Phoenix Headdress Ming 16th C

ITEM DETAILS

Inventory Code: INV4587

Object: Figure

Material: Bronze with traces of gilt

Origin: China

Period: Ming Dynasty

Date: 16th Century

Decoration: Seated Daoist deity wearing elaborate robes and a three-phoenix headdress, holding a tablet before the chest

Mark: Unmarked

MEASUREMENTS

Height: 9.8 in / 25.0 cm

Width: 5.5 in / 14.0 cm

Depth: 3.2 in / 8.0 cm

CONDITION

GOOD (4/5) – Surface wear, corrosion, losses to gilding, casting flaws, and minor losses consistent with age. Please review the photos carefully for more details.

DESCRIPTION

A Chinese bronze figure identified as Bixia Yuanjun, a revered Daoist goddess associated with Mount Tai and known as the Sovereign of Clouds of Dawn.

The deity is seated on a low cabriole-legged throne with her feet resting on a stepped plinth and holds a tablet before her chest.

She wears flowing robes with incised decoration and an elaborate three-phoenix headdress, a characteristic attribute of the deity.

The bronze retains scattered traces of original gilding, enhancing the detailed casting and expressive facial features.

COLLECTOR’S NOTE

Bixia Yuanjun became one of the most widely venerated female deities in late imperial China, particularly during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Her distinctive three-phoenix crown differentiates her from Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, who is traditionally depicted with a single phoenix headdress.

NOTES

Comparable example sold at Bonhams, Asian Art, 5 November 2018, catalogued as a Ming Dynasty bronze figure of Xiwangmu. Later scholarship identifies the three-phoenix headdress as an attribute of Bixia Yuanjun.

Please review all photos carefully as they form part of the description.