The inscription is in three sections. One lists the temple for which the figure was made, Qia Yuan Si. Another section records when and where the figure was made, Da Ming Wanli mo nian Zhang Zhou fu dong An Xian dong men wai dong xi xiang. The third section lists the names, both married and maiden, of the three female donors, all of them followers of the Buddha. The names inscribed read: Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Lin, and Mrs. Fong (Miss Ke, Miss Shih, Miss Wang)

This figure belongs to the group of Tongqi-ware figures made during the late Ming period in Tonganxian in Fukien, South China, one of which is in the Avery Brundage Collection. Compare the seated figure of Guanyin, measuring 19 1/4 inches in height, bearing the same date (1615) and inscription, illustrated by d'Argence in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, p. 328, no. 175. The Brundage figure lists the name of only one donor, the same Mrs. Lin inscribed on the present lot. The author notes that Tongqi ware is distinguished by 'simple shapes and the warm unctuousness of its crackled glaze'