Bronze Sculpture Edition: 9/30

16 × 26.5 × 17 cm. 6 1/4 × 10 3/8 × 176 × 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese, numbered on the lower backside

LITERATURE
1990, The Sculpture of The Twelve Animals by Ju Ming, Caves Art Center, Taipei
PROVENANCE
Caves Art Center, Taipei
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Strong Spirit, Tenacious Will of Life
Ju Ming's Artistic Feelings of Ox

“His sculptural strength can be said to be inspired by his talented styling and constructing. What is produced from the southern country is a simple, yet bold texture.”
——Ju Ming's tutor Yang Yuyu

Ju Ming, who regards life as the source of his creation, established his artistic feelings of “returning to the original” in his early years. Since the 1970s, he created the “Countryside Series” works, both traditional and contemporary. In 1976, his first solo exhibition held at the National Museum of History was a blockbuster, and was highly resonated in the art world.

Ju Ming, who belongs to the cattle of the Chinese zodiac, often uses the theme of cattle in his native series. Apart from the familiarity with cattle when he grazed in childhood, the traditional Eastern virtues of loyalty and simplicity represented by cattle are also in line with himself. After learning from the famous sculpture artist Yang Yuyu, he was encouraged by him to further expand on the subject matter, and created the classic cattle-themed masterpieces such as Shepherd Boy and Cow and Working Together, which won numerous awards and was regarded as a representative of Taiwan's native culture movement. The Twelve Zodiac-Ox presented this time is the continuation of the rural series.
The work vividly portrays a working ox with its head down. Following the stance of the bowed ox, it accurately and vividly shows the life posture of the bull. In Ju Ming's sculpture, the tenacity and dedication of the ox has become the unyielding spirit of the will to life. The famous line of Lu Xun “bow down and be willing to be a serving ox” is thoroughly explained, showing a strong and vivid charm.

Price estimate:
HKD: 60,000 – 100,000
USD: 7,700 – 12,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 259,600