Page 218 - September 20 2021 Chinese Works of Art Bonhams NYC

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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE WASHINGTON D.C.
COLLECTION
321
AN EARLY BLANC DE CHINE SEATED FIGURE OF GUANYIN The combination of heavy potting, a slightly ivory glaze, and the
17th century, Indistinct seal mark to reverse exquisite modelling of the weighted hair-tied back on a small head and
The Goddess of Mercy superbly modelled in a relaxed seated pose placed on a stocky pyramidal body with heavy folding drapery, point
with her arms folded and resting on a tripod stool with lion-headed to a 17th century production date. For three other examples which
scaled cabriole legs with claw ends, her head tilted down and her each bear some resemblance to ours in a number of these features,
eyes gently downcast, the long garment covering the body and falling see P.J. Donnelly, Blanc De Chine, New York & Washington, 1969, Pl.
in flowing folds; with a glass vitrine. 79b; 82b and 154c.
5 3/4in (14.6cm) high
The four-character seal mark lightly impressed to the lower back of
$7,000 - 9,000 our figure, appears to have a water radical in the lower left, which can
be found in the name He Chaozong, one of the most notable potters
十七世紀 德化白釉觀音坐像 from Dehua.

For other seated Guanyin figures attributed to this Master, see John
Ayers, Blanc de Chine: Devine Images in Porcelain, New York, 2002,
p. 83, no. 34. Another is illustrated by Robert Blumenfield, Blanc de
Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 132, fig A,
with both hands hidden within the folds of her long sleeves. Another
figure of a male sage, probably Laozi, illustrated by Rose Kerr & John
Ayers, Blanc De Chine, Porcelain from Dehua, Chicago, 2002, Pl.
22, shares a tripod arm-rest or stool with very similar treatment of
monster-mask knees above clawed feet.

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