Page 26 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013
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The Property of a Lady 女士藏品
18 He Chaozong (by tradition, living AD1522-1612) is considered to be
A rare blanc-de-chine figure of Guanyin and child one of the greatest master potters of Dehua figures, creating figures
Two impressed He Chaozong Yin marks, 17th century of pure white clay with a creamy pearl-like glaze. By absorbing various
The Goddess of Mercy superbly modelled with finely hooded eyes cast techniques of clay modelling, wood tooling and stone carving, he
downwards under highly arching brows and thick hair gathered in developed his own method which became known as the He School, and
two simple knots resting on each shoulder, the delicate fingers gently his works can now be found in the collection of the Palace Museum in
supporting a boy seated on her lap with the right hand holding a lotus Beijing and in important museum and private collections.
pod over his shoulder and the left hand clutching at the goddess’ robe,
the Goddess seated on an exquisitely sculptured rockwork with the right While the number of examples of Guanyin figures attributed to He
foot tucked onto the left knee, all covered with a creamy glaze. Chaozong have led some to believe that the potter was a particular
36.8cm (14½in) high devotee of the Goddess, it is extremely rare to find a Guanyin of such
£20,000 - 30,000 complexity. The Goddess holds a child in her lap, with scrolls and
HK$240,000 - 350,000 CNY190,000 - 280,000 books beside her, all balanced on rockwork of astonishing height
and with extraordinary depth to the hollows. In this piece the master
十七世紀 德化白瓷送子觀音像 「何朝宗印」篆書模款 demonstrates not only the luxuriantly-draping robes and smooth, noble
faces for which he is famous, but also extreme technical virtuosity in the
Provenance: acquired by John Sparks, Ltd. London, from auction in aid complex detailing around the main figure. Compare similar treatment
of the French in Great Britain Fund, before 15 March 1944 of the figure and rockwork in a Guanyin also with the impressed He
Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London, on 15 March 1944 (invoice Chaozong yin mark illustrated by Wu Tung, Earth Transformed: Chinese
dated 6 April 1944). Ceramics in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 2001, p.138.
An English private collection
It is extremely rare to find a He Chaozong piece with two marks,
來源：購於倫敦古董商John Sparks，1944年3月15日前來自一場英國基 however other examples are extant in museum and private collections;
金援助法國的拍賣 see a figure of Li Taibo illustrated by R.H.Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine:
1944年3月15日購於倫敦古董商John Sparks (發票日期為1944年4月6日) The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p.134, where the author
英國私人收藏 also mentions two pieces each with two marks in the British Museum, as
well as one formerly in the collection of S.Marchant & Son, and another
in the author’s own collection.
Compare two related blanc-de-chine figures of Guanyin, He Chaozong
mark, which were sold in these rooms, 10 November 2011, lot 210, and
12 May 2012, lot 297.
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