Shown is a perfect Chinese porcelain figure in Dehua porcelain or blanc de chine. It concerns the depiction of the Boudhistic sacred Guanyin, neither man nor woman. In Europe often incorrectly referred to as a statue of the Virgin Mary. Dehua porcelain was mainly produced from the 17th century onwards. It has a pure white ivory-colored glossy “greasy” coating and is worked out in great detail. With her hair up high she has a contemplative facial expression with both very finely worked hands folded in front of the chest. She wears a pleated dress to the bottom of the legs. The figure stands on a sculpturally elaborated cylindrical rock with a sacral fungus and an open and closed lotus flower, surrounded by rough foliage. At the back there is a rounded wide band in relief with several parallel rings. The figure stands on a round flat base. At the bottom, the wide base ring is unglazed with a central wide circular opening that provides entrance to a hollow interior with high relief circular rings. 17th and 18th century figures have a hollow opening at the bottom while later versions have a closed base. The figure is slightly translucent to external light but only slight due to the thickness of the paste. We don’t see a mark. 17th and 18th century copies are of course rare and sought after.

Condition: left hand is a bit loose, the statue is otherwise in perfect condition.