23.8 cm. （9 3/8 in.） high

Dehua or blanc de Chine, meaning ‘white from China’, are white porcelain made in the Fujian province with the origins dating from the Ming dynasty. The coastlines of the Fujian province have been important ceramic production and exporting centres since the Song dynasty； but during the Ming period, potters achieved a unique fusion of glaze and body of milky ivory white colour.

Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, was particularly revered in Fujian and is very much a popular subject for Dehua porcelain. Author P.J. Donnelly, speaking on Dehua porcelain figural subjects, claims that there is no doubt that figures constitute the great glory of blanc de Chine： the crisply modelled figures with a smooth white glaze were popular, as were other devotional objects such as incense burners, candlesticks, flower vases and statuettes of saints. Also known as the deity Avalokiteshvara in China, The Goddess of Compassion and Mercy is considered the most celebrated and most worshipped Bodhisattva in Buddhism. According to Buddhist scriptures, anyone reciting the name of Avalokiteshvara in times of distress would have their prayers heard and answered.

Notable masters of Dehua porcelain especially in devotional figures, such as the late Ming period He Chaozong, signed their masterpieces with their impressed sealmarks. The present lot appears to bear an impressed four-character zhuanshu sealmark reading He Chaozong yin, a mark which is recorded and illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine. The Porcelain of Tehua in Fukien, London, 1969, p.271, pl. F1o. For a related figure of a Dehua figure of Guanyin with similar facial expression made by He Chaozong, see op.cit., p.150, pl.A.

Provenance：
A Japanese Private Collection, acquired in the 1970s

Price estimate:
HKD: 400, 000 - 600, 000
USD: 51, 300 - 76, 900

Auction Result:
HKD: --