Lot 286. A 'Dehua' figure of Buddha, Republic Period, attributed to Xu Youyi. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

modeled standing on a lotus base, wearing long flowing robes draped about the shoulders and open at the chest revealing a swastika, one hand holding a 'pearl', the other in varada mudra, the facial features finely formed depicting a serene expression, the hair with tightly curled whorls covering the domed ushnisha, all under a warm milky glaze, impressed to the reverse with a double-gourd Dehua seal and a square seal reading Xu Yunlin zhi, wood base (2) - Height 21 in., 53.3 cm

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Exhibition: Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 72.

Bibliography: Liu Youzheng, Zhongguo Dehua Baici Yanjiu / Blanc de Chine, Beijing, 2007, col. pl. 22.

Notes: The square seal Xu Yunlin zhi belongs to Xu Youyi (1887-1940), the principal follower, pupil and associate of the master Dehua potter Su Xuejin (1869-1919). According to John Ayers in the catalogue to the exhibition Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, p. 121, Xu Youyi, previously considered to be an eighteenth century potter, came from a family of carvers of wood and clay images. His pieces are characterized by elaborate details and a consistent milky-white glaze. For a similar example by the same potter but with jewelry, see P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 156. See two large figures of Samantabhadra and Manjusri, from the collection of E.E. and M.C. Schwarz, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 13th April 2013, lot 3196; and a standing Buddha figure in a similar pose, signed Xu Yuyuan zhi and Xu Yunlin zhi, also sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 3107.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM