Ming Dynasty Bronze Xiwangmu Figure

Ming Dynasty Bronze Xiwangmu Figure
VALUE (2019) | $4,000 Auction – $6,000 Auction

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW APPRAISAL

On this episode of Antiques Roadshow Lark E. Mason appraised a Ming Dynasty Bronze Xiwangmu Figure.

APPRAISED VALUE (2019) | $4,000 Auction – $6,000 Auction

This appraisal was featured in Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Hour 3 (#2403) and was filmed in Winterthur, DE on June 18, 2019.

APPRAISAL TRANSCRIPT

GUEST:
I'm a junker, and I found this at an auction, and I bought it. Probably '98, '97.

APPRAISER:
You paid how much for it?

GUEST:
About $90.

APPRAISER:
One of the first things that one does is identify the material. It's bronze.

GUEST:
Is it from a mold that then was personalized?

APPRAISER:
It would have been cast, it would have been cast.

GUEST:
It was a cast?

APPRAISER:
And then finished, chased, by hand.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
And as we go to the other side, we'll see that in fact, this was quite resplendent at one time, because you can see...

GUEST:
Oh, the gilding.

APPRAISER:
...the remnants of gilding on the back. This does rub off, and you would have people who were devotees who would come and...

GUEST:
And touch her?

APPRAISER:
And touch it.

GUEST:
Oh, okay.

APPRAISER:
Touch the figure. What happens over a period of hundreds of years is, that gold, which is very, very thin...

GUEST:
Wears off.

APPRAISER:
Wears away. And you'll notice one place that it hasn't worn away is the face.

GUEST:
Ah.

APPRAISER:
Because you don't touch people's faces.

GUEST:
You don't touch the face.

APPRAISER:
The other aspect of this-- it's a clue to what the figure is-- is this, the tablet. It's a form called a hu. So, if you were going back to China...

GUEST:
Uh-huh.

APPRAISER:
And this is Chinese.

GUEST:
It is Chinese, okay.

APPRAISER:
And you were trying to have a petition to a regional authority...

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
...or even to the emperor, you would go with a tablet on which would be written issues that were of concern to you that you wanted to petition that authority with.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
And it was kind of a formal type of presentation. But it also rose beyond this earthly realm, and it would go to a higher authority.

GUEST:
Huh.

APPRAISER:
Which is the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
And so this would be in someone's Taoist temple setting.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
It's a Taoist figure. So, this is a, a rarer example, dating probably somewhere between the 16th, 17th century.

GUEST:
Wow! I wasn't going to say, "Wow." Um...

APPRAISER:
(laughing)

GUEST:
Why was there wax underneath it?

APPRAISER:
Well, that's something we're going to share. And that's also a puzzle, because someone put wax with a candle wick in the base. And the only thing I can think is, this was not a good idea.

GUEST:
(laughs)

APPRAISER:
It provides no support for the metal.

GUEST:
No.

APPRAISER:
Which is quite strong.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
And I don't think it's damaged the figure at all, because it is wax, and I think it's going to come out.

GUEST:
I wouldn't remove it. Yeah.

APPRAISER:
Not something that we advise anyone to do. What do you think this would be worth today?

GUEST:
Maybe $500?

APPRAISER:
I think it's more likely $4,000 to $6,000 at auction.

GUEST:
Oh, really? Oh, ooh!