Country Group: China, Japan and Korea

Item id: 8216

Ming Dynasty Lacquer Buddha body stuffed with scrolls and other things (seeds, leaves, cotton, etc) on an early carved custom base, with ivory head and hands (probably 18/19th replacements. These cannot be sold with the body as I do not have the requisite certificate or paperwork that would alloy them, as ivory, to be bought, sold, or transported over state lines in the USA) I will make no exceptions for this as the laws are extremely serious for violations- I would sell the body alone). You can see one of the scrolls in the shot of the underside, which has a triangle that can be removed. There are some chipping and minor cracks, as seen in photos, but no significant damage or repairs. The base appears original (600 years old!) and is very finely carved hard dark wood (rare and valuable in and of itself). Oversized at 14 inches (body alone). Very rare piece. I once saw a nearly identical body (alone with no head or hands as they are carved of elephant ivory) sell at auction for close to $30,000 though I cannot find the reference to include in this listing. I do have original black and white photos from the 1970s along with letters from a well-known university academic who has written many books on Asian sculpture describing the piece along with his opinions, which should be sufficient to apply for CITES authorization to recognize this piece to be eligible to be considered under CITES regulations. These will be provided to the winner, who may apply for the CITES approval for the head and hands to be approved to be accepted from the current ban on ivory, but currently, the body alone with NO HEAD/HANDS (FIRM) is being sold. The next owner can make Replacement heads and hands at their own cost. This has a place of honor in a central place in my home. It has been with me for many years as part of my personal collection and has only been made available for sale for the first time recently. Again, to be clear, this is being sold with no head or hands. Please excuse my repeating this, but I sold it at a previous auction with this included in the title and still the person who purchased it was unhappy because it came with no head or hands so they i ask her to return it, even though it was an auction item. We are making every effort to make this clear as this is not returnable.. I have been offered twice the opening by potential who tried to convince me to sell them this Buddha body and give them the head and hands, and I had to refuse as I can get in big trouble and could lose my business if I did so. Thank you for understanding. The new owner can have a head and hands created, or can leave it as is. A rare and spiritually potent object. The original asking price was between 15 and $20,000, so at this very low starting price. It is an exceptional deal.