Qing Lacquered Matsu Sculpture - Guardian of the Sea

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Indigenous Art - Ralph T. Coe Center, Santa F...

By Artemis Fine Arts

Aug 22, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-08-22 10:00:00 2025-08-22 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Indigenous Art - Ralph T. Coe Center, Santa Fe, NM https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/indigenous-art---ralph-t-coe-center-santa-fe-nm-20324
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com

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• Lot Description
  East Asia, China, Qing Dynasty, ca. 18th century CE. A venerable lacquered wood sculpture of Mazu (also known as Matsu), the beloved sea goddess of Chinese coastal folk religion, portrayed here in seated reverence, her hands held at the waist in a gesture of benevolent composure. Carved with formal restraint yet powerful spiritual presence, this figure depicts the deity in full court regalia, her posture upright and steady, embodying divine watchfulness. Her face is soft yet focused, the expression calm and inward, framed by an elaborate headdress. Her hair is pulled up in a formal topknot, flanked by circular side ornaments evoking celestial wheels or twisted shells. She wears layered robes with cascading sleeves, richly patterned with low-relief decoration, including stylized dragons - an imperial motif long associated with power, protection, and the cosmos. Size: 12.5" L x 15.5" W x 29.4" H (31.8 cm x 39.4 cm x 74.7 cm)
  
  At the reverse, a large square cavity has been carved into the back, likely for consecration purposes - meant to house written sutras, talismans, or relics during a temple dedication ritual. The base is unsealed, exposing the raw wood and revealing the sculpture's long devotional history.
  
  Known as the Guardian of the South Seas, Mazu is venerated throughout the Chinese diaspora as a protector of sailors, fishermen, and travelers. Born as Lin Moniang in 10th century Fujian, legend holds that she miraculously saved her family members from drowning through spiritual intervention, ascending to deity status after her death. Her worship spread rapidly across southern China and Taiwan, flourishing during the Ming and Qing dynasties and continuing today in vibrant ritual traditions.
  
  The Qing court formally recognized Mazu's cult, bestowing upon her ever-higher imperial titles. She is often shown in formal court attire, reflecting this divine bureaucratic role - as much an empress of the celestial ministry as a folk heroine. In many traditions, Mazu is accompanied by two guardians, Qianliyan (Thousand-Mile Eye) and Shunfeng'er (Favorable Wind Ear), though in this sculpture she appears in solitary majesty, as a focused channel of protection and grace.
  
  Mazu is especially important in Daoist, Buddhist, and folk contexts, where she is invoked not only for safe passage and weather but for justice, healing, and prosperity. Her temples line the southeastern seaboard of China and stretch across the Taiwan Strait, making her one of the most widely worshiped deities in East Asia.
  
  This 18th century carving, once likely enshrined in a temple or home altar, reflects the syncretic nature of Chinese religious life - a fusion of cosmic order, imperial authority, ancestral veneration, and maritime devotion, all embodied in the resolute stillness of this lacquered guardian of the deep.
  
  Historically, carved figural statues held profound cultural and religious significance in China, serving not merely as decoration but as vital conduits for spiritual inspiration, solace, and ancestral veneration. These sacred objects populated homes, clan halls, temples, and public spaces, where altars and shrines honored familial ancestors and a pantheon of deities. The size and opulence of these dedicated spaces reflected a family's standing, with even modest homes featuring altars for expressing Confucian piety through ancestor worship. Wealthier families often dedicated entire rooms to elaborate shrines, housing images and ancestor tablets - inscribed placards acting as spiritual seats for the deceased, sometimes even found in temple halls where monks offered prayers for their well-being in the afterlife.
  
  Central to imbuing these carvings with spiritual potency was the "eye opening ceremony," a consecration ritual performed by a senior priest or monk. This process, involving practices like dotting the eyes with cinnabar, pricking them, or anointing them with liquids, was believed to awaken the statue's senses, enabling it to perceive and respond to devotees' prayers. Before this ritual, a cavity carved into the statue's back was filled with sacred documents, a dated paper script honoring the donors and commemorating the event, prayers, and symbolic items representing inner organs, then sealed. The completed, veiled statue was then solemnly carried to the temple for the complex consecration, a communal event believed to imbue the inert carving with life force (chi or qi) and invite the deity's spirit to reside within.
  
  Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, acquired from 1990 - 2005
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #193632

  Condition

  Fissures, chips, nicks, and abrasions as shown, as well as areas of old, inactive insect damage. Weathering to surface commensurate with age. Otherwise, mostly intact with liberal remaining detail and rich patina to wood.
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