Lot 1608. A rare Dehua seated figure of Guanyin, Ming dynasty, early 17th century, impressed Lin Chaojing mark, 18 in. (45.8 cm.) high. Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 425,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2016

The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is shown seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus throne encircled by beads, with the hands held in the lap in dhyanamudra, and wearing a loosely draped robe falling in graceful folds, a ruyi bead necklace, and a long cowl that falls over the shoulders from where it is draped over the two tall, looped topknots that rise behind the lotus crown centered by a figure of Amitabha. The face is finely modeled with a serene expression and a small urna. A Lin Chaojing four-character seal mark is impressed on the back, and the figure is covered overall with a glaze of white tone pooling to a pale blue in the recesses. 

Provenance: Galster-Ireland Collection, New York.

Note: Lin Chaojing (dates unknown) is believed to be a contemporary of He Chaozong, who was working during the 16th and early 17th centuries, and in 1612 is mentioned in Quanzhou Fu Zhi, a record of the history of the Quanzhou District of Fujian province. The present figure can be compared to a seated figure of Guanyin (15 ½ in. high) bearing the mark of He Chaozong, illustrated by R. H. Blumenfield in Blanc de Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley/Tokyo, 2002, p. 130 A, where it is dated early 17th century, and on the cover, and to another figure, very similar to the Blumenfield Guanyin, also by He Chaozong, (15 1/8 in. high), illustrated by J. Ayers in Chinese Ceramics: The Koger Collection, London/New York, 1985, no. 147. The double-lotus throne of each figure is encircled by a similar band of beads, and each figure has a cowl draped over what are most likely similar looped topknots behind a lotus crown centered with the figure of Amitabha.