A FINELY MODELED DEHUA FIGURE OF WEN CHANG BY HE CHAOZONG MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

the God of Literature depicted seated on a tall rockwork plinth raised on one side to support his arm, his face with fine features pierced for the insertion of real hair as moustache and beard, his head covered in a tall official's cap with raised back and two long streamers, a voluminous robe over an undergown and elaborate belts with applied plaques, his left hand holding a ruyi scepter and his right hidden under long double sleeves, the base hollowed out, the reverse impressed with an indistinct gourd-shaped potter's mark reading He Chaozong

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 213.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 1004.

The overall condition is quite good apart from the expected restoration to his index finger and firing crack to the wrist and forearm. The two ribbons on his hat both have about 2 cm section of restoration with additional firing cracks to the rockwork. There is a tiny chip to the plaque on his belt.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

He Chaozong, the Dehua kilns' most famous potter and greatest figure sculptor, lived and worked in the late Ming period, around the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His figures are characterised by remarkable sculptural quality, with most delicate facial features and bold garment folds. He is mainly known through his extant work, which often bears his seals, but very little is recorded about the man himself. His works defined the characteristic Dehua style, and his images, which have provided models for porcelain sculpture until today, established a standard that has never since been reached again.

The present figure is a particularly large and finely modelled example of a well-known group of sculptures depicting the God of Literature, designed by He. A very similar figure with a square He Chaozong mark, from the Koger collection in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida, was included in the exhibition Blanc de Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 40, and is also illustrated in Rose Kerr and John Ayers, Blanc de Chine. Porcelain from Dehua, Chicago, 2002, p. 32, fig. 21, together with a similar smaller figure from the Hickley collection, with the sceptre in the right hand, cat. no. 27; another, also with square mark but lacking the ruyi sceptre, is illustrated in Henry Trubner, Royal Ontario Museum. The Far Eastern Collection, Toronto, 1968, pl. 95; another smaller figure is compared with a slightly earlier model cast in bronze in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine. The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley and Toronto, 2002, p. 105; a related smaller figure was also sold in our New York rooms, 17th/18th October 1974, lot 217.