A 'BLANC DE CHINE' PORCELAIN SCULPTURE OF GUANYIN
China, probably Kangxi period

The deity depicted standing on a heap of waves, the feet resting on a large lobster, the oval face set by the hair gathered in two braids on the sides, on the chest a showy pendant, the body in an elegant twist, the long and wide dress moved in frills, in the left hand what appears to be a scroll of writing.

24,5 cm high

Provenance: Italian private collection.

The depictions of Guanyin together with sea creatures have been related mainly to Guo Hai, an emanation of this bodhisattva who is considered the protector of fishermen; another interpretation is that this figure represents Tian Hou (also known as Ma Zu), the Celestial Empress, highly revered especially in southern China, who was a widespread subject of the Dehua kilns since the 17th century.
A similar sculpture - marked Zhang Shoushan - is in the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore (J. Ayers - R. Kerr, Blanc de Chine. Porcelain from Dehua, Singapore 2002, n. 12: the authors alternatively date it in the early17th century or much later); another comparable statuette, unmarked, is in the British Museum in London (inv. 1930-0719.43) dated to the Kangxi period.