Lot 2304. A large Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century; 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 250,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The elegant figure is shown standing barefoot on a base of swirling waves with her head turned to one side providing a serene expression. Her upswept hair is dressed in a topknot fastened with a ruyi-shaped pin, her body draped with a loose robe with heavy folds partially covering the bare chest spanned by a bejewelled necklace. The reverse is impressed with a two-character seal mark jin feng, 'cautiously sealed', Japanese wood box.

Note: The impressed mark on the current figure, jin feng, is a seal frequently used by scholars in ancient times on their letter correspondences to indicate that a document has been sealed. This mark can be seen on a number of Dehua and Yixing wares, including a large Dehua seated figure of Maitreya mentioned by P.J. Donnelly in Blanc de Chine, New York, 1969, p. 256, where the author mistakenly identified the mark as wan bang, or 'all nations', at the time. 

Christie's. IMPERIAL SALE: IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. 29 May 2013. Convention Hall.