Page 46 - SOTHEBYS MARCH 18 AND 19 2025

John Ayers, Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China clouds with her uncovered right hand resting on her left.
Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 25; and the other, Compare a He Chaozong-marked figure of the first type
formerly in the collection of Stephen D. Winkworth, sitting preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, ascribed to the
before a mandorla indistinctly inscribed with an underglaze Ming dynasty, illustrated in Dehua Wares Collected by the
Fig 1. A magnificent and exceptionally large Dehua figure of Guanyin by He blue date equivalent to 1618 CE, was first published in R.L. Palace Museum, vol. I, Beijing, 2016, pl 13; and another
Chaozong, 17th century; from the collection of Aimée de Heeren (1903-2006), Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pl. almost identical figure, of almost the same size as the
sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6th April 2016, lot 3606. 45, fig. 1, the inscription made legible through X-ray and present (51.5 cm), sold in these rooms, 20th May 1987, lot
圖1 十七世紀 德化白釉觀音菩薩立像 《何朝宗印》款；Aimée de
Heeren（1903-2006 年）收藏，2016年4月6日售於香港蘇富比，拍品3606 published in Robert Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine: The Great 528 and again more recently at Christie’s Hong Kong for
Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, pp 164-165. over nineteen million Hong Kong dollars, 27th November
2017, lot 8120. Compare also a similarly sized (48 cm)
For a comprehensive summary of the debates around He example of the second type preserved in the Victoria &
Chaozong, see Xu Benzhang, ‘Discussions of a few issues Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Patrick Donnelly,
on the porcelain figures by He Chaozong’, Dehua Ancient Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 145A.
This extraordinary sculpture exudes an ethereal elegance. fame and reputation of He Chaozong’s wares led many later Ceramics Academic Essay Compilation, Dehua, 2002, pp
Delicately crafted, with intricate folds in the robe cascading artists to imitate – or outright forge – his style and mark, 287-297; Zeng Fan, Fujian taoci kaogu gailun [An overview While many examples of these two types are known,
like ripples of silk, the figure simultaneously embodies both relying on his ‘brand’ as a symbol of quality. Compare, for of ceramic archaeology in Fujian], Fuzhou, 2001, pp preserved in important collections across the world, the
movement and stillness while its bright glazed surface example, a standing Guanyin probably produced during 216-217, and ‘Additional Comments on the Dehua Kilns’, present design – ‘type three’ – appears to be extraordinarily
gleams with a soft and pure luminosity. Every detail, from the the Qing dynasty, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 60 (1995- rare, with the present figure the largest ever recorded. While
gentle gestures of the hands to the intricate ornamentation (accession. no. xin 00088269), bearing a He Chaozong mark 1996), pp 25-27; and Rose Kerr, “Introductory Remarks on both of the aforementioned designs possess the grandeur,
of the hair, speaks to an extraordinary level of craftsmanship alongside a more lengthy inscription to a patron, Mr. Zhang, Dehua Ware”, in John Ayers and Rose Kerr, Blanc de Chine: fluidity of form, and serenity that typify He Chaozong’s work,
and artistry – a level attained by only the most prestigious of who presumably commissioned the piece from a workshop Porcelain from Dehua, A Catalogue of the Hickley Collection, all of these examples may be said to fall short of the present
Dehua artisans and, chief among them, He Chaozong. specializing in the ‘He’ style. Singapore, 2002, pp 10-11. figure, with its characterful gesture and windswept garments
rendered in extraordinary detail. From the figure’s serene
For an artisan with such an enduring legacy, remarkably Though the exact life dates of this master potter will likely Each creation of He Chaozong is a unique masterpiece in expression to the wave-kissed rockwork at her feet to her
little is known about the life of He Chaozong. While some remain unclear, archaeological and textual data have allowed its own right. That said, while He and his followers injected crisp robes gathering in a wave-like knot at her naval, every
have pointed to the Quanzhou fu zhi [Gazetteer of Quanzhou us to form a cursory understanding of his life. Born around unique character and variation into each sculpture, it also minutia of the present lot has been thoughtfully considered
Prefecture], dating from 1612, as a reliable contemporaneous 1522 in Housuo in the west of Dehua county, Fujian, He seems that they established a select range of prototypes and brought to life with mastery. To date, only one other He
source on He’s life, the passage describing him and his Chaozong spent his life perfecting his craft and sculpting on which to base these creative acts. To date, three distinct Chaozong Guanyin of this lifelike type is attested, sold in
Buddhist figures ‘transmitted and treasured [everywhere] some of the finest blanc-de-chine figures ever attested, types of standing Guanyin figures with He Chaozong marks our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 3606 (Fig. 1). This
under heaven,’ appears to be a later, 1763, addition, relying on a particularly high quality source of kaolin near his are known – the present lot being an example of the largest figure, from the collection of Aimée de Heeren (1903–2006),
impossible to separate from the celebrity status his mark workshop. The date of his death remains unclear, but two and, by far, the rarest type. The first variety, likely the most is almost identical to the present with crisp blustering robes
had already garnered by the late Ming. Indeed, while a limited dated Guanyin figures may provide possible clues as to He’s common of the three, depicts the bodhisattva with her and stands just shorter at a height of 51.5 cm.
number of exceptional figures – the present included – may active years as a sculptor: the first, inscribed with the cyclical hands concealed within her sleeves, usually standing atop
be confidently attributed to the master himself, the growing date yiwei nian (corresponding to 1619 CE), is illustrated in restless waves, while the second depicts her on a mass of

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