Page 167 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1972.43-26 (C-58i)
Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion

Qing dynasty, late eighteenth century
Dehua ware (blanc de chine), porcelain with colorless glaze,
19.5 x 12.1 (7% x 4%)
Harry G. Steele Collection, Gift of Grace C. Steele

INSCRIPTIONS
Inscribed on the back with the name of the potter, He Chaochun,
enclosed in an impressed gourd-shaped seal

TECHNICAL NOTES
The glaze, which covers only the exterior of the hollow figure, is
uniformly colorless.
PROVENANCE
Harry G. Steele [1881-1941], Pasadena; his widow, Grace C. Steele.

HIS SERENE FIGURE OF THE BODHISATTVA Guanyin was
Tfirst molded from a fine white paste and then com-
pleted by carving with a knife. Although the figure is rather
simple overall, the details are well modeled. Guanyin sits in
the posture known as royal ease, with one knee raised. The
drapery folds are fluid, and the figure's hands are hidden
inside the robe. The face has a calm expression. The hair is
depicted with parallel incised lines. The ears have elongat-
ed lobes, symbolizing the deity's noble status. The small
applique urna on the forehead between the bodhisattva's
eyes is a sign of enlightenment. On the figure's chest is a
beaded necklace with a medallion in the form of a lingzhi
mushroom (the fungus of immortality).
The back of the figure is relatively plain, with the
exception of a faintly visible seal impression in the shape
of a double gourd, just above the central curving drapery
fold at the lower back. The legend of the seal, He
Chaochun, is the name of one of the most famous Dehua
potters of the seventeenth century. 1 His seal, however,
was often forged by later Dehua potters. This is likely to
be such a case, as the clean finishing of the interior is
characteristic of the eighteenth century.
SL

NOTES
i. For examples of this mark, see Donnelly 1969, 276-278.

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