Lot 774. A rare Dehua figure of Buddha, Late Ming dynasty, 17th century; 17 in. (43.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. Price realised USD 18,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018 

The figure is finely modeled standing on a lotus pedestal, wearing layered robes elegantly draped over the left arm and tucked in at the waist leaving the chest bare. In his right hand he holds a round jewel, while his right arm is held pendent at his side, and his face is modeled with a serene expression beneath the tightly curled hair. A four-character seal mark,Huijiang Shanren, is impressed on the back of the figure.

Provenance: Roger Duchange, Paris, February 1979.
An important private collection, Saint Cloud, France.

The property of Marchant, Est. 1925. 

Marchant was founded by Samuel Sydney Marchant in 1925, when he opened his antiques shop in Cursitor Street, in the City of London. With Richard Marchant's entry into the business in 1953, the firm increasingly specialized in Asian art, particularly imperial wares of the Ming and Qing dynasties, including porcelain and jade. Stuart Marchant joined in 1985, sharing his father's passion and knowledge of Chinese art, and the close family relationship continues into the fourth generation with Stuart's son Samuel and daughter Natalie. The name Marchant has become synonymous with quality, rarity and provenance, criteria that have always been requirements for any piece of art handled by Marchant.

Literature: Marchant, Blanc de Chine, London, 2014, pp. 20-21, no. 7.

Note: According to R. H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley/Toronto, 2002, p. 139, the mark Huijiang Shanren ('Hermit of the Hui River') "was applied to an anonymous ceramic sculpture artist of the Ming period who lived in seclusion in Dehua," and "excelled in sculpting Buddhist figures." Two variations of the mark are also recorded by P. J. Donnelly in Blanc de Chine: The Porcelain of Tehua in Fukien, New York and Washington, 1969, p. 359, Appendix 4, no. 8b (with raised characters and a border), and no. 8c (with raised characters but no border, as on the present Buddha figure), and a figure of Guanyin with a Huijiang Shanren mark, also with no border, is illustrated ibid. pl. 82A.