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A RARE BLANC-DE-CHINE FIGURE OF DAMO
17th century
Finely moulded standing barefoot on a reed and vase of lotus floating
above tempestuous swirling waves, his hands clasped beneath the
voluminous folds of his long robes draped from his rounded shoulders,
his head flanked by heavy earlobes slightly downcast with an intense
expression highlighted by his fiercely curling eyebrows, moustache and
beard, all covered in a creamy white glaze.
35.5cm (14in) high

£20,000 - 30,000 CNY180,000 - 280,000
HK$220,000 - 330,000

十七世紀 德化白瓷達摩立像

Provenance: Captain J. Meuldijk

來源： J. Meuldijk上尉收藏

Often depicted standing barefoot on a reed leaf, recalling his crossing
of the Yangzi River to evade his pursuers, Damo was an Indian monk
credited with the transmission of Chan Buddhism in China.

Compare with a related blanc-de-chine figure of Damo, dated
1650-1700, illustrated by P.J.Donnelly, Blanc De Chine, New York,
1969, pl.87a. The graceful modelling of the figure and exquisite
attention paid to detail, such as the folding of the drapery and the
curling of the crashing waves, carefully rendered amidst blossoming
lotus, is related to the sculptural style of the venerated Ming dynasty
potter, He Chaozong. A Damo figure by He Chaozong is illustrated
in Zhongguo meishu quanji, gongyi meishu bian 3: Taoci, Shanghai,
1993, no.142. Another example, in the Wang Xin Lou Collection, is
illustrated in China Institute Gallery, Divine Images in Porcelain, New
York, 2002, no.27.

Compare with a similar standing figure of Damo which was sold at
Christie’s New York, 26 November 2014, lot 3120.

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