@shinigami 

Hi Birgit -

Not really my area but I have seen enough of these over the years, variously attributed in date from the late 17th-19th/early 20thC, all are a uniform colour/tone and none have ever display greyish tones or these types of crackles. The dirt to the underside left hand/fingers holding the sceptre also appears artificial/deliberately applied ... 

Errol is also correct regarding the impressed double-gourd He Chaozong  seal, which has been widely copied since the 18thC due the outstanding quality of authentic pieces attributed to this potter ... 

Stuart 

@julia

Hello Julia:

My guanyin is certainly overly decorated and bejeweled. However, I have seen many others with similar decoration. I also like it when a guanyin wears a diadem. It add to the facial proportions.  I had not seriously even looked at the feet before. However, I'll keep an eye out for that in the future. I am posting a photograph of a guanyin in the Victoria & Albert Museum collection attributed to He Chaozong and made between 1580 and 1650 according to the Museum's description. The image shows both feet clearly and I believe the V & A guanyin's feet are much better displayed and proportioned. So, you might have a point there. However, the V & A figure is by  the master himself and mine is a much later example by an unknown artist. I doubt that mine would ever be accepted by a Museum!

Kind regards,

Errol

@julia

Hello Julia:

I agree with you about loving these figures because they do convey a feeling of serenity to any room in which they are located. An American lady of Chinese origin, who was a seller of wonderful Chinese porcelains, told me once that the downcast eyes are there because a guanyin is a goddess of mercy and compassion. She is looking down from Heaven on suffering humanity below!

My other Blanc-de-Chine guanyin is I think probably made within the last twenty or thirty years (see photographs). I won her at an eBay auction from a seller with a good reputation who described the guanyin as being early 20th century in origin. However, I think the solid foot/base versus the hollowed out figures shown in this thread today speaks to a modern origin. I thought that at the time, but still liked the piece because of its height (22 inches), lovely white color and very nice facial expression and also she had intact fingers!

Regards,

Errol

I would have bought it thinking it was 300 years old. Yikes!

Hello All,

We have collected about 8 of these figures over the years. Will post them a couple at a time over the next week or so as think if I post to many at once it could be confusing.  They were all purchased between about 1975 and 1985, all from small junk shops or charity shops. 

The first one seems to show Guanyin in warrior mode , sword, arrows and armor. Have often thought may not be Guanyin, but possibly Hua Mulan from a very old Chinese legend. It has a seal mark on the back. There was a small repair to the figures hat when purchased. This has been made worse due to the intervention of a cat's tail that decapitated the figure the cat has long since passed. it is about 25cm tall. The second one is more traditional quite nicely modeled with delicate fingers that are still intact. I like the fish and basket. They have solved the foot problem by only having one foot just poking out from under her robes. It is about 27cm tall. Have never given much thought to their age beyond that they maybe very late 19th or early 20th. Members thought would be appreciated, understand that may be difficult as my photo's are not the best.

Cheers

Michael

Erroll, I really like that second one. And yes, I also have now seen several other heavily beaded examples. I prefer your second one, too, Micheal. That first one looks a bit intimidating, like no wonder the cat knocked her head off. Her fringe is interesting, maybe that can help with dating.

I remember someone saying that these can be dated according to their headgear / forehead decoration and I keep meaning to try to look into that,  maybe keep records and check things out. 

The problem with that, if it is true, is that it is an easy tool for fakers, which then renders it useless unless one has other means.

Julia

@julia

Hello Michael and Julia:

I too liked Michael's second figure, but not the first. Julia and I are looking for serenity and that old harpy deserved to have her head knocked off!  The goddess of mercy and compassion can never be in warrior mode! I agree with Julia that that cat surely knew what she was doing! Michael's second figure is remarkably similar to my first that I posted earlier today except, of course, for the basket. 

I think the bottom line that emerges from Birgit's original post and the responses to it is that it is extremely difficult to date these Blanc-de-Chine guanyin figures. We know the gourd seal is used on modern replicas. The porcelain color looks similar on very old and current pieces and the decoration is similar on contemporary and antique figures. I assume there are ways of dating these figures, but I do not have a clue as to what the dating criteria are. 

My guess is that the only truly old and high-quality guanyin posted in this thread today is the one from the Victoria and Albert Museum. There is a lot of detail in that figure that is lacking in the others.

Regards,

Errol

The nice early Kangxi Guangxu shown by William is also authentic I think. According to the book this was the standard export form. There are still quite many around from good dealers but most are in worse condition or badly repaired. 
Old Guanyins made for household use often had loose hands so many got lost or were replaced. Remaining hands are usually glued in. I find it fascinating that the hands of the fake Guanyin also look glued in though it is probably made in one piece. 

Sorry I wanted to say Kangxi Guanyin. My auto complete has already learned many new words since I participate in the forum 😄

The glued/ loose/ missing hands are interesting. It isn't only Guanyin, either, although I think the story relates to her- I could be misremembering . I have this immortal and his hands were made separately. As you can see they were both stuck in,  but one has come loose.

@shinigami @erroll 

Hi Birgit, Erroll and all - 

Attached images/descriptions of two blanc-de-chine figures, Lots 553/58, Christie’s HK, 20th March 1990 ... 

These show the great differences in colour tones and detailing such pieces display ... 

Lot 553 is accepted as been an example made by He Chaozong, it fetch HK$300,000 hammer ...

Lot 558 is, perhaps, a slightly earlier example of the first piece Erroll posted from his collection, it did not sell on the day ...

As an aside, the Chinese goddess Guanyin originated from a male India Bodhisattva called Avalokitesvara (in Chinese Guanshiyin), who could assume many faces and appearances, male/female, old/young, sitting/standing. On many early frescoes and paintings Guanyin had a moustache and bare feet, these provide a hint of her male origins. It was only during the 12th century, in the Song dynasty that the female, white robed, figure appears with lotus, vase, pearls and children and was worshipped throughout East Asia as the Goddess of Mercy ... 

Stuart 

Hello All,

Just thought would post these links seem to prove my warrior Princess is Hua Mulan. Hope this make those whose Guanyins sensibilities were disturbed feel better.

Michael

https://www.zentnercollection.com/items/1216819/Chinese-Antique-Blanc-de-Chine-Figure-Mulan/enlargement1

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/ceramics-and-porcelain/a-chinese-dehua-porcelain-figure-of-hua-mulan-with-fitted-stand12-5-8-x-7-1-4-x-5-1-2-inches-321-x-184-x-140-cm-incl/a/5443-78372.s

@brettm Mulan the movie, yay warrior princessses! I had a beautiful ginger tabby, who broke a vase, kitty hazards.

@sharonpa

Sharon,

That Disney movie manages to spoil  a really great Chinese folk tale dating from the 4thc that has been retold many times in Chinese history in songs, poems, and novels. There is a crater on Venus named after her.

Michael   

@brettm I just love cartoons, soon it will be Saturday morning, especially for you. Enjoy, Sharon