Stone STELE (oolitic marble?) featuring Guanyin... Lot 178

Stone STELE (oolitic marble?) featuring Guanyin standing, her hands holding a mala; the goddess is adorned in Indian fashion; she is surmounted by a smaller figure of Guanyin; she is surrounded by apsaras; on the plinth are depicted on the front a secondary deity surrounded by attendants. On the back is a long apocryphal dedication. China, in the style of the Northern Qi (550-577) and Northern Wei (386-534). H. 157 approx. W. 52.5 D. 25.5 cm A large fossilized wood stand, 26 x 67 cm, is included. A family heirloom, this stele is said to have come from the Maison des bambous, formerly located at 33, rue du 4 septembre in Paris, then at 170, boulevard Haussmann in 1917. Founded in 1879 by Alfred Perret, the company specialized in luxury bamboo and basketry furniture. Later, it produced carved wood and lacquer furniture of Far Eastern inspiration, sometimes in the taste of Viardot. From the early 1890s, it took the name Maison des Bambous. In 1887, the company began trading in art objects from China and Japan, including bronzes, porcelain, ivory, jade and lacquer. The company took part in the Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900, winning two silver medals. Its intense influence in France and abroad earned it a select clientele, including the Empress Eugénie, Mlle de Marsy, the Duc de Montmorency, King George I of Greece, the Prince of Wales, the Duchesse de Montpensier, the American Vanderbild, the Portuguese Queen Amélie d'Orléans...