Page 84 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

THE PROPERTY OF GENTLEMAN 士紳藏品

62
A BLANC-DE-CHINE FIGURE OF DOUMU
Impressed Boji Yuren seal mark, late Qing Dynasty
Exquisitely modelled seated in dhyanasana on a
lotus pedestal with eighteen arms holding various
attributes, the primary hands held before the
chest in namaskaramudra, another pair held in
dhyanamudra, the loose robes open at the chest
to reveal beaded jewellery, the face with serene
expression beneath an intricate crown centred with
Buddha flanked with elaborate beaded pendants
dressing the long plaits, all supported on a lotus
base above curling stylised waves, the back
impressed with a double-gourd mark reading dehua,
and a square mark reading boji yuren, wood stand
and box.
34.3cm (13 1/2in) high

£5,000 - 8,000
HK$55,000 - 88,000 CNY46,000 - 73,000

清末 德化白瓷斗母元君坐蓮像
「博及漁人」篆書印款

Provenance: a British private collection, acquired in
Hong Kong, circa 1970s

來源： 英國私人收藏，於約1970年代購自香港

The Daoist Goddess Doumu or ‘The Dipper Mother’,
as her name implies, is the mother of the seven
stars of the Northern Dipper (Ursa Major). In her
hagiography, it is recounted that she made a vow to
‘give birth to sacred children who would assist the
Universe’. When she was incarnated as a woman
named Lady of Violet Light, consort to King Zhou
Yu, she bathed in the Pool of Warm Jade and
Golden Lotuses. After she suddenly felt ‘moved’,
lotus buds in the pool blossomed to reveal children
that eventually became stars in the sky. Doumu was
worshipped to undo the effects of negative karma.
See Taoism and the Arts of China, Chicago, 2000,
pp.282-283.

Compare with another very similar Dehua figure of
Doumu, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby’s,
Hong Kong, 5 October 2011, lot 2013.