A DEHUA FIGURE OF GUANYIN SIGNED HE CHAOZONG, LATE MING DYNASTY

skillfully modelled as Guanyin, seated on a rajalilasana on a base with a striated border, the poised figure depicted clad in a loose robe opening at the chest and cascading in voluminous folds around the base with the right foot partially exposed, the figure elegantly rendered with a benevolent and peaceful expression flanked by long pendulous earlobes and surmounted by neatly drawn-up hair secured with a ruyi-shaped pin beneath a draped cowl, the reverse impressed with a He Chaozong yin seal mark within a square, covered overall save for the base with a translucent warm glaze of creamy-white tone

Collection of Karl Frithiof Dahl (1869-1952).

This delicately carved figure is in overall good condition, except for a few small refilled chips to the deity's big toe and the right edge of the robe (approx. 1 and 1.3 cm), in addition to other expected minute nicks to the extremities. The figure also has some typical firing cracks, a few of which retouched.
"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."

Sensitively modelled with a serene smile and half-closed eyes, which capture the deity’s deep state of contemplation, this figure bears the mark of He Chaozhong. Although his dates were unknown until recently and he was believed to have been active during the Kangxi period, recent scholarship has indicated that He lived during the late 16th century through to the first half of the 17th century. His name is mentioned in the 1763 Quanzhou Fuzhi gazetteer, in a section entitled ‘Ming Specialists’ (yishu), as a noted sculptor of porcelain figures. Furthermore, two figures of Guanyin with He Chaozong marks also bear cyclical dates that indicate that he was active in the late Ming dynasty: the first, attributed to 1618, is illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine. The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 165, in the collection of the author; and the second, attributed to 1619, included in the exhibition Blanc-de-Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute, New York, 2002, cat. no. 25, was sold in our New York rooms, 19th March 2007, lot 770.

A figure of Guanyin seated with one leg raised and the hands concealed by the heavy folds of the robe, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Guanyin in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2014, pl. 176, together with one without a veil, pl. 177; another is illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, op. cit., p. 132; a third from the collection of C.A. Wiessing, was included in Blanc de Chine, S. Marchant & Son, London, 2006, pl. 3; and a fourth was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 9th June 1986, lot 154.

Other related figures of the bodhisattva Guanyin signed He Chaozong include one seated cross-legged on a similar pedestal, in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, 1981, vol. 7, col. pl. 31; and another included in the exhibition Blanc-de Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, op. cit., cat. no. 34.