Note: For a similar figure of Guanyin holding a child and seated on rocks with an elixir vase at her side see Exhibition of Blanc de Chine, S. Marchant & Son, London, 1994, p. 24, no. 10.

Lot 3145. A Dehua figure of Wenshu, 17th-18th century; 13 ½ in. (34.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 21,250. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The figure is shown seated on a Buddhist lion, and wears long robes open at the chest to reveal a bead necklace centered by a chrysanthemum medallion. She holds a scroll in the right hand and prayer beads in her left hand. The face is modeled with a serene expression and the hair is pulled back into two braids which fall over the shoulders, wood stand.

Note: Manjushri (Wenshu), the bodhisattva of Wisdom, is usually shown seated on a lion and is often depicted in a triad with the Buddha Shakyamuni.

A very similar figure from the Hickley Collection, which also has the unusual interior lingzhi-form reinforcements, is illusrated by R. Kerr and J. Ayers in Blanc de Chine, Porcelain from Dehua, Chicago, 2002, no. 10.

Lot 3146. A large Dehua standing figure of Guanyin, 19th-early 20th century; 19 in. (48.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 25,000. Price realised USD 32,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The figure is shown standing on a double-lotus base, and wearing long layered garments adorned with ornate beaded jewelry. The hair is drawn back into two knots at the shoulders, and gathered under a ribbed court headdress encircled by an elaborate beaded crown centered by a seated figure of Amitabha Buddha. She holds a stem of willow leaves in the right hand, and a small bowl in the left. A double-gourd mark reading Fujian Dehua zhizao (made in Fujian Dehua) and a seal mark, Da Ming Xuande nian zhi (made in the year of Xuande of great Ming), are impressed on the back.

Provenance: Acquired in New York prior to 1990.

Note: The goddess Guanyin, also known as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, is venerated as the goddess of mercy and compassion. One of the most popular subjects in Chinese art, early representations portray the deity as male, but by the Qing dynasty, particularly in porcelain, she was depicted as a beautiful female. She is often depicted, as seen on the present figure, holding a willow leaf, the Buddhist symbol of both physical and spiritual healing.

Lot 3147. A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Late Qing Dynasty-Republic Period, Early 20th century; 19 in. (48.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. Price realised USD 47,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The figure is shown seated on a tall rocky outcrop with legs crossed and left arm bent to support a ruyi scepter, beside a vase and bundle of scrolls on an adjacent rock. She wears long robes, ornate beaded jewelry, and her hair is separated into two long braids, each tied in a knot and trailing down her shoulders. Her eyes gaze downward toward a smiling acolyte standing on a leaf above crashing waves, shown with hands clasped together and wearing long, billowing scarves. The back is impressed with a Dehua double-gourd-shaped mark and a seal mark, Xu Yunlin zhi (made by Xu Yunlin).

Note: A Dehua standing figure of Buddha from the Richard Lehman Gray Collection bears the same two seals found on the present figure and is illustrated by J. Ayers in Blanc de Chine, Divine Images in Porcelain, p. 121, no. 72. Ayers notes that the potter Xu Youyi (1887-1940) came from a family of wood and clay carvers and that his work " shows considerable versatility." He was the principal follower of Su Xuejin. Two large Dehua figures of temple guardians, illustrated ibid., p. 123, nos. 73-74, also bear the Dehua gourd mark and the seal of Xu Youyi.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 15 - 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza