Page 248 - Christie's, Important Chinese Works of Art, Hong Kong Dec 3 2021

3049 Continued
At almost 60 cm. in height, the present figure of Guanyin
commands an imposing yet graceful presence, and is
one of the largest and finest figures of this type that are
known. It also appears to be the only known bronze silver-
inlaid figure of Guanyin bearing a He Chaozong mark.
He Chaozong, whose dates remain unclear, is believed to
have been active during the Jiajing and Wanli periods, and
is revered for his works of Dehua figures, especially that
of Guanyin. One of the best examples of such was sold at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2017, lot 8120 (fig. 1),
which is shown standing on swirling waves with her hands
covered beneath the folds, and slightly smaller (51.5 cm)
than the present figure. Although it is interesting to note
that the style of the impressed He Chaozong mark on the
Dehua figure (fig. 2), comprising four characters within
a square, is nearly identical to that found on the present
figure.
The majority of bronze silver-inlaid figures from this period
are Guanyin of smaller sizes. Shown seated or standing,
they often bear the mark of the late-Ming artisan Shisou,
known for his works of bronze Buddhist figures. See for
example, eight bronze silver-inlaid figures of Guanyin in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Guanyin in the
Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2012, pp. 70-79,
nos. 40-47, of which seven bear the mark of Shisou with
only one inlaid with the mark of Lin Qing, another late-
Ming artisan.
The only other known bronze silver-inlaid figure with a He
Chaozong mark appears to be a figure of a seated Buddha
(35.5 cm.), sold at Bonhams London, 11 May 2017, lot 108
(fig. 3), which bears a three-character mark, leaving out
the character, yin, ‘impression’, and is enclosed within a
double gourd (fig. 4) as opposed to a square seen on the
present figure.