明 琺華彩觀音菩薩坐像配座 花形座 《大明嘉靖年造》款 方形座 《大明宣德甲寅年敬獻》款

方形座提款：
大明宣德甲寅年敬獻
耿玉寅
吳世中
寶福寺五[...] 總會首張天成等仝叩
[...]玉山
[...]在[...]
匠師周步高【周布】升仝造

The guanyin: one hand missing one finger, both hands with restored fingers. There are cracks and splits to the body, and areas of loss to the gilding. There are minor chips to the lotus petals. The first pedestal: scattered chips overall. The second pedestal: All four sides with restored breaks mended with staples on the foot. One side with inscription also with restored breaks and mended with staples.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The inscription on the pedestal can be translated as follows:
Respectfully presented by Geng Yuyin and Wu Shizhong during the jiayinyear (1434) of the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Great Ming dynasty. Zhang Tiancheng, the head of The Five [...] Committee of Baofu Temple and committee members pay respects. [...] yu Mountain at [...][...]. Made by master craftsmen Zhou Bugao and Zhou Busheng.

The Baofu Temple is located in Shanxi, 12 km southwest from the township of Tunliu.  It was first built in the second year of Dade reign (1298). The architectural style is that of the Ming Dynasty, with glazed roof tiles, and survived with some murals. The inscription provides a glimpse into the role of patronage in the production of votive images in the Ming period. The names of the donors, Geng Yuyin and Wu Shizhong, the committee head Zhang Tiancheng, together with craftsmen, Zhou Bugao and Zhou Busheng, were responsible for the placement of this figure in the Baofu Temple. According to Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 531, in the late-Ming period fund-raising appeals were launched by monasteries among the gentry. Monasteries were in constant need of funds to maintain the buildings and thus continued to solicit more visitors and donations. In making their considerable donations, the gentry also sought to receive in return earthly gains such as fortune and status as well as making atonement or investing the spiritual welfare of their family.

Only a small number of large scale ceramic figures of this type are known in Western collections and this piece is particularly notable for its fahua palette glaze. Such temple sculptures were probably a common sight in temples throughout China as part of the furnishing of public buildings and offered a more affordable, yet visually commanding, alternative to large bronze figures that were also created during the Ming dynasty. Compare similarly fashioned figures of Guanyin, with intricately detailed robes, crowns and naturalistic faces, but covered in a sancai glaze, such as one in the Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, illustrated in Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p. 233, pl. 143; another from the collection of Paul Houo-Ming-Tse, illustrated in Paul Houo-Ming-Tse, Preuves des Antiquities de Chine, Beijing, 1930, p. 621; and a third sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3767. 

Large figures of this type were created in section molds, hand finished before glazing in the sancai or fahua palettes, probably at specifically-built kilns. Compare large sancai-glazed figures of Buddha, such as two figures seated on elaborate thrones, from the Avery Brundage collection, now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, illustrated in Rene-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argence (ed.), Chinese, Korea and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection 1974, pls. 170 and 174; and another, dated to 1494, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, published in Warren Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, vol. 1, New York, 1947, pl. 151. See also two large standing figures of assistants to the Judge of Hell, in the British Museum, London, included in Jessica Harrison-Hall, op. cit., pls 19:3 and 19:4.