Figure
Category
Ceramics
Date
c. 1640 - c. 1690
Materials
Hard paste porcelain
Measurements
190 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Dehua
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 433489
Summary
Figure, hard-paste porcelain (of the undecorated type sometimes known as blanc de Chine in the West), representing Guanyin, dressed in flowing robes, wearing a crown and necklace and holding a scroll, seated on rocks with one knee raised (the posture known as 'royal ease'), Dehua, Fujian province, China, c. 1640-90.
Full description
Guanyin is a figure venerated in Buddhism, a bodhisattva or an enlightened being who remains on earth in order to help others. Originally made when represented in Indian Buddhist art, Guanyin took on a more female appearance when transplanted to China and came to be seen as a deity of mercy and compassion. References: Emile de Bruijn, Borrowed Landscapes: China and Japan in the Historic Houses and Gardens of Britain and Ireland, London, Philip Wilson Publishers in association with the National Trust, 2023, pp. 23, 25 and 26 (fig. 7), and see further references listed there. (Emile de Bruijn, November 2023)
Provenance
Purchased by the National Trust with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, 1984.