Lot 811. A large green, yellow and cream-glazed stoneware figure of the 'Water-moon' Guanyin in a grotto, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 26¾ in. (68 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 62,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The bodhisattva is shown seated in rajalilasana on a rock ledge above a dragon-carp swimming in the water below, all within a rocky grotto interspersed with a seated Buddha, a figure, and a horse with books strapped to its back, the whole raised on a waisted, rectangular pedestal base with figures of acolytes on three sides, wood stand.

Provenance : William Clayton, London, acquired 1971-1975.
Private collection, Florida.

Note : The present group appears to depict the 'Water-Moon Guanyin', also known as the 'Avalokiteshvara of the Southern Seas', a popular figure during the Yuan and Ming periods. The bodhisattva is always shown seated in rajalilasana, or 'royal ease,' on a base mimicking a rocky shore.

Christie’s. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.