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A MASSIVE STRENGTH-TRAINING ‘STONE LOCK’ LIFTING WEIGHT, SHISUO
奥地利
09月10日 下午5点 开拍 / 09月08日 下午3点 截止委托
拍品描述

Description

A MASSIVE STRENGTH-TRAINING ‘STONE LOCK’ LIFTING WEIGHT, SHISUO
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

China, first half of 20th century or earlier. Roughly carved from a large rectangular stone block, with an irregular, slightly polished surface, the weight featuring a cylindrical recessed section intended to serve as a grip.

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (established in 1976), Radevormwald, Germany, before 2020. Acquired by the gallery’s founder Peter Hardt (b. 1946) during his extensive travels in Asia, the first of which occurred during a formative world tour in 1973. Throughout his storied career, Peter Kienzle-Hardt organized countless exhibitions and participated in major international art fairs. He made many important contacts during this time and eventually met the Kienzle siblings, who shared his passion for Asian art and culture. A strong bond and deep friendship developed, ultimately leading to the creation of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst decades later in 2014. While the museum’s permanent exhibition predominantly comprised pieces from the Kienzle Family Collection, Peter Kienzle-Hardt supplemented it with objects from his own collection. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Good condition with wear, obvious losses, structural fissures, scattered nicks, small chips, and encrustations.

Dimensions: Length 38.8 cm

From ancient times, physical strength and conditioning in China has been intertwined with religious rituals, social customs, health practices, and military discipline. Such training was not limited to the young or athletic; it also served to help older adults maintain balance, posture, and mental well-being. Notable historical figures illustrate this tradition, such as the Yellow Emperor, credited with living to 113 years through dedicated physical practice, and the general Tao Kan, who famously moved piles of bricks across his courtyard each day as part of his routine.

Sports and exercise particularly flourished during the Han dynasty, such as fencing, gymnastics, archery, equestrian events, weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, and even early forms of soccer, guided by philosophical concepts like Yin and Yang and the notion of Qi, which emphasized harmony and the unimpeded flow of energy through the body. Calisthenics, documented in China for over 5,000 years, coexisted with functional strength training using massive bronze cauldrons (ding) and carved stone weights shaped like padlocks (shisuo), such as the present example.

‘Stone lock’ lifting weights rose to prominence during the Tang dynasty and evolved over the centuries, gaining renewed importance in the late 19th century amid the ‘self-strengthening movement’, when physical prowess became a vital cultural response to foreign incursions. Used by soldiers, guards, bandits, and martial artists, these implements were not merely athletic apparatuses, but practical tools designed to forge resilience and readiness for combat. They embody a period in which physical strength was inseparable from cultural identity, serving both as a means of survival and a symbol of national pride.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related ‘stone lock’ lifting weight, dated 1945-1965, 25.4 cm long, 9.72 kg, in the National Museum of Taiwan History, accession number 2003.001.0971.

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价格信息

拍品估价:150 - 300 欧元 起拍价格:100 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

拍卖公司

Galerie Zacke
地址: Sterngasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria
电话: 0043-1-5320452
邮编: 1070
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