TWO 'CIZHOU' PAINTED STONEWARE FIGURES OF ZHENWU YUAN / EARLY MING DYNASTY

each similarly hollow-molded, the bearded immortal wearing long flowing robes beneath chainmail breast plates, seated on a cloth-draped throne with a snake-coiled tortoise subdued below, painted in dark and russet browns on a white slip under a clear glaze (2)

Acquired in Boston, 1940-60, and thence by descent.

Zhenwu,'the perfected warrior', is one of the most important deities of the Daoist pantheon. His identity as a warrior god and association with the north, the direction from which China was constantly under threat, bolstered the role of the deity as a protector of state and the imperial family. Imperial dedications to Zhenwu peaked during the Yongle reign with the emperor crediting the god for his rise to the throne.

A head fragment with close similarities to the present figure was excavated at the main Cizhou kiln site in Hebei province and is illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln Site at Guantai, Beijing, 1997, pl. 155, fig. 5. A similar figure, from the Marilyn Alsdorf Collection was sold in these rooms, 22nd March 2001, lot 95.