A dehua standing figure of Guanyin in the style of He Chaozong, China, 17th century
A dehua standing figure of Guanyin in the style of He Chaozong, China, 17th century. photo Nagel Auctions
The Goddess well modelled standing on a leaf floating on waves, her hands concealed within the voluminous sleeves of her long robes falling in folds to her feet, open at the chest to show a ruyi-set beaded necklace, her face with crisply carved serene features beneath her hair pulled back and piled in a high chignon covered with a cowl draped onto her shoulders, applied overall with an even white glaze pooling to an ivory colour in the folds
Property from an old European private collection
A similar larger Guanyin with a square sealmark of He Chaozong is illustrated by John Ayers, Blanc de Chine, Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, China Institute, New York, 2002, no. 26, p. 75; and another figure modelled with a boy at Guanyin's feet, in the Musée Guimet is illustrated by P. J. Donnelly in Blanc de Chine, pl. 145C.
This same double-gourd mark is also on a Guanyin from the Edward T. Chow collection, included in the exhibition, Blanc de Chine, Messrs S. Marchant & Son, London, 1994, no. 3, p. 18-19, and published by P. J. Donnelly, op. cit., appendix 4, f, q, r, p. 355
Few very small chips, good condition. H. 45,2 cm - Estimate 18 000 €
Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. November 4th 2011. www.auction.de