Provenance
Marc Michot, Bruges.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 1990 and accompanied by a copy of their certificate of authenticity. (see added scan)
Description
Finely modelled in underglaze blue and white porcelain, the bodhisattva Guanyin is shown seated in dhyanamudra upon a high-backed throne, flanked by two diminutive acolytes. Her serene face is framed by long flowing locks and adorned with an elaborate headdress surmounted by a small seated Buddha, identifying her as Avalokiteshvara. Gracefully rendered birds perch upon her shoulders, while richly painted floral scrolls and ornamental motifs decorate her robes. The rectangular pedestal is painted with a lotus-petal frieze, symbolising purity and enlightenment.
The figure displays the distinctive sculptural quality and refined cobalt decoration associated with the finest devotional porcelains of the late Ming period. Comparable examples are preserved in important museum and private collections, including a closely related figure formerly in the renowned C. T. Loo Collection and exhibited in the 1949 exhibition Blue-Decorated Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat. no. 126). Another similar example is illustrated in Mostra d’Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954 (cat. no. 677).
Lot 17
Wanli
H.: 23,5 cm
Estimation
€ 8.000,00 – € 12.000,00
Provenance
Marc Michot, Bruges.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 1990 and accompanied by a copy of their certificate of authenticity. (see added scan)