Lot 293. A 'Dehua' figure of Guanyin, Late Ming Dynasty, attributed to Huijiang Shanren. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

the standing bodhisattva with finely modeled hands joined in front of loose robes opened to reveal a beaded necklace, a cowl draped over the high chignon secured by a scrolling trefoil ornament above the serene face with downcast gaze, all supported on a base of scrolling clouds, the back with an impressed Huijiang Shanren square seal mark - Height 17 in., 43.2 cm.

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Note: Robert Blumenfield discusses this late Ming dynasty potter in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 139 and notes that the 'Hermit of the Hui River' excelled at sculpting Buddhist figures. A seated Guanyin figure with a similar mark is illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 82A. Donnelly places the potter in the second half of the seventeenth century, ibid. p. 283. A figure of Damo with similar seal mark was sold in our London rooms, 5th November 2008, lot 335.

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