Chapter 258 380w

"This Buddha statue is a statue of Tara, also called Dora Bodhisattva, Dora Buddha Mother, and Save Buddha Mother. In the Buddhist legends in the mainland, it was transformed from the tears of Guanyin Bodhisattva out of compassion for the world;

Tibetan Tantric Buddhism believes that she is the most compassionate and beautiful Bodhisattva, with a total of twenty-one incarnations. Worshiping her can liberate her from eight difficulties, and can also increase blessings, wisdom, authority and life span. Whatever you ask for will be fulfilled."

"In Nepal and snowy areas, Tara is widely worshiped by believers. She has six-colored bodies. The main image is the green Tara with one face and two arms. However, your image is not that. She has a golden body and a left hand.

Holding a lotus with a vase on it, it should be Tara, the source of treasure, who governs wealth and fortune, and is one of the transformed incarnations of Tara..."

Seeing that Li Zhuo was a little confused, Zheng Heng explained in the simplest terms:

"In other words, this Baoyuan Tara, the God of Wealth in Tantra, does the same job as Zhao Gongming, the Taoist God of Wealth."

"That's understandable, you continue talking." Li Zhuo said.

Zheng Heng nodded and said:

"Judging from the style, it should be a statue from the early Malla Dynasty in Nepal in the 13th century.

This period was the golden age of Nepalese art. A trace of the statue style of the Gupta Dynasty in India can still be seen in the statues. The facial expressions are natural and rich, with round faces and full cheeks, showing a gentle and soothing look.

In terms of body shape, he tends to be slender and strong, with a girlish waist. The clothes are complicated, the carvings are detailed, and they are commonly inlaid with gemstones, mainly turquoise and lapis lazuli.

The belt shows a drop-shaped decorative style, and the hair accessories are mostly five-leaf crowns. Occasionally, there are statues of three-leaf crowns. Your Baoyuan Tara is a normal five-leaf crown.

The lotus petals under the seat tend to be flat and wide, and the water drop pattern decoration style is prominent...

What we usually call Tibetan Buddhism, in fact, its sculpture style is the product of the direct influence of the early sculpture art of the Mala Dynasty in Nepal. At that time, a group of Nepalese carving masters came to Tibet, and their influence spread throughout Tibet, and later also affected Mongolia.

.

However, the overall Tibetan style is closer to the style of the early sculpture art of the Malla Dynasty after the 14th century, and is quite different from that of the 13th century.

How to identify it? The easiest thing is to look at the lotus petals on the base. The bases of statues after the 14th century are more slender and narrower, and the decorative patterns are more three-dimensional..."

Li Zhuo was a little dizzy, but he probably understood that judging from the style, this was a Tara Buddha statue from Nepal in the 13th century.

That's enough.

He doesn't care much about these, he is more concerned about the price.

"Brother Heng, is this Buddha statue valuable?" he asked.

"Well, it's valuable, very valuable," Zheng Heng replied affirmatively. "I don't know much about the Buddhist statues in Nepal. They are not only valuable domestically, but also valuable internationally, especially the Buddhist statues from the early Malla Dynasty."

He went on to explain:

"If the size of your Buddha statue is larger and the face is better, its price may be several million, or even tens of millions."

"Oh my god, it's so expensive?" Li Zhuo was really surprised.

It's just a gilt bronze statue, not pure gold. If Zheng Heng hadn't said this, he would never have thought of it.

"Yes, judging from the performance at major auctions over the years, the international market's pursuit of early Marat sculptures continues to rise, even ignoring the impact of the economic environment."

"Let me tell you this, it is said that the value of cultural relics flowing into the black market in Nepal every year exceeds 8 billion US dollars, of which Buddhist statues, monks' manuscripts, gilded scriptures, etc. account for the absolute majority, and their value is inestimable.

Moreover, most of the Nepali cultural relics have gone to a place called the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, USA."

"This museum has a collection of more than 3,800 Nepalese cultural relics, including the best bronze sculptures in the world. Several old money families in the United States have been eyeing Nepalese cultural relics since the 1960s and have spared no effort to search for them for so many years.

, ultimately resulting in a massive loss of cultural relics in Nepal."

Li Zhuo sighed after hearing this. The country of Nepal has been poor and weak for many years, and its people are miserable. The greed and inducement of Western white people have led the locals to steal and sell cultural relics in order to survive, which ultimately led to this sad situation.

I just hope that this phenomenon will not happen in China, and it is not his turn to worry about other countries.

Zheng Heng continued:

"I'm not going to talk about other places, let's just talk about China. Last year, a 14th-century Nepali statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva was sold at the Poly Auction House in the Imperial Capital for a high price of 57 million yuan."

Li Zhuo was a little confused after hearing this. The price...

Zheng Heng smiled and said:

"But that statue is more than twice as tall as yours, and its provenance is clear. It was made by a master of Nepalese carving art, so the price is naturally high. It is currently the highest price for Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist statues in the country."

It turns out to be the highest transaction record in China, so it’s no wonder.

"Also, at the beginning of this year, a small domestic auction house sold a Nepali Green Tara for a high price of 10.18 million yuan, which is also a very high number."

Li Zhuo asked:

"Why is the price so high? Is Green Tara valuable?"

Zheng Heng explained:

"The origin of this Green Tara is very clear. It was made by tantric craftsmen specifically for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty. It is considered an imperial production. The materials used and the craftsmanship are of a high level.

Moreover, it was collected more than 100 years ago, and there are clear records. It has not appeared on the market in the past 20 years, so it caused many collectors to compete for it as soon as it appeared."

These all have clear provenance, and the price cannot be lowered.

Zheng Heng cited another example, a Nepali Buddha statue that was also sold just this year, but in Hong Kong, with a price of HK$23.6 million.

His meaning is very clear:

"There is no doubt that Nepalese Buddha statues are absolutely valuable, but the Buddha statues must have a clear provenance, or the Buddha statues must be large enough, made of good materials, and have perfect shape and charm, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve a high price."

Li Zhuo asked him to estimate the price of his Tara. Zheng Heng took out his own tools, measured the Buddha statue, and then said:

"This Tara statue is 20.5cm high, 15cm wide, and weighs 1508 grams. It is made of copper and is gilded. It has a round face, a calm demeanor, and a generous and elegant shape. Overall, the statue is of a relatively high standard.

I estimate that its price must be more than 3 million yuan. It is impossible to buy it for less than this price, but I feel that it is difficult to reach 4 million yuan..."

Li Zhuo nodded when he heard the estimate.

Because the valuation of the Buddha statue by the incense burner falls within the range of more than 3 million.

Li Zhuo then said:

"Then we still have to ask Brother Heng to help sell it. We still follow the old rules. But don't worry, let's have a meal together first and talk about it later."

The old rule is that the sooner you sell, the better. 10% of the total sale price belongs to Zheng Heng.

"You can eat sooner or later. Don't be in a hurry. I'll go do something first."

"That's okay. Let's make another appointment when we're done."

Zheng Heng nodded, opened his own backpack containing various measurement tools, carefully put the Tara statue in, and then said goodbye and left.

After Li Zhuo sent him away, he went home to rest.

At about 5 pm the next day, Zheng Heng called excitedly:

"Brother Li, the Tara statue you got has been viewed by several collectors. The latest bid has been raised to 3.8 million yuan. It feels like it's about the same. If you want him to increase the price, it will probably be divided. What do you think?

What’s the price?”

……
Chapter completed!