LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

A VERY RARE AND FINELY CARVED SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF GUANYIN SEATED ON A XIEZHAI
LATE 17TH CENTURY
The deity dressed in long, loosely draped robes, her right hand holding an upturned bottle vase crossed over her lap, her elaborately tied, long, braided hair emerging from under her hood, the edges of which, along with her robes, are incised with a floral scroll on a wave ground, the figure shown seated in lilasana on a blanket draped over the back of the creamy vermillion-colored, fanged xiezhai, its head turned while holding in its mouth the stem of a large lotus blossom supporting the deity's right foot
7¾ in. (19.9 cm.) high, box

Provenance

Spink & Son, prior to 1972.
Hugh M. Moss Ltd., London, c. 1972.
Mary and George Bloch Collection.

Lot Essay

This exceptional carving falls into an elite group of unsigned soapstone carvings which may be attributable to Zhou Bin. Apart from the quality of the carving, the facial features, particularly around the eyes and the way the ears are carved, with detailed inner ears giving way to long, rather pointed lobes, bear particular resemblance to Zhou's signed works. Zhou often decorated the clothing of his figures with elaborate medallions of chi dragons, fenghuang, or flowers, and the blanket upon which Guanyin sits is in precisely the same florid style. The borders of the blanket are also of the same distinctive pattern as that found around the edges of cushions carved by Zhou.

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