Specialist Shares Insight on a 240cm-tall Imperial Figure of Medicine

This enormous Buddha figure has been seating in Gump’s in San Francisco for over half a century. The décor store founded in 1861 in San Francisco by Solomon Gump and his brother, sells products ranging from jewellery made from jade, precious gemstones, pearls to goods from luxury designers such as Hermès and Buccellati. During the 20th century, the business was passed on to Solomon's son A.Livingston Gump, who had a strong passion for Oriental art. After a fire that destroyed the store in 1906, A.L refilled the store with stock of merchandise from Japan and China, such as fine porcelain, jade, bronze, and exotic fabrics and rugs.

The most notable feature of this Buddha is its monumental scale. I was overwhelmed by its enormous size when I first saw it in person. The figure itself, without the pedestal, is 172 cm tall. It’s the biggest among all Buddhist sculptures of its kind.

It was made in accordance with the specification from Imperial temples, possible in the early Qing dynasty, between Kangxi and Qianlong period. It also matches with the form of other gilt-bronzes figures from Imperial temples.