MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY, IMPRESSED HE CHAOZONG MARK

This figure belongs to a group of very few Dehua figures of Damo made by the venerated potter He Chaozong, who acquired fame during the 16th century for his mastery in modelling white-glazed porcelain figures known as 'blanc de chine' in the west, among which those of Damo are particularly rare. The current figure is an excellent example of his sculptural style, most notably seen in the arresting expression of the deity as well as the attention paid to detail, such as the draperies on the robe swept gracefully to one side, contrasting the turbulent waves on the base. The modelling is confident and regal, without compromising the overall simplicity of the figure.

An almost identical example is in the Beijing Palace Museum, stamped with a slightly different He Chaozong mark which reads 'He Chaozong zhi', illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, gongyi meishu bian 3: Taoci, Shanghai, 1993, no. 142. Another very similar Damo figure with a 'He Chaozong yin' impression is in the Wang Xin Lou Collection, exhibited in Blanc de Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, Catalogue, no. 27.

Damo was a monk of Indian origin who travelled to China in the sixth century, whose teachings became the foundation of Chan Buddhism. Damo is often depicted standing barefoot on a reed leaf, representing the episode when he crossed the Yangtze River in this manner to evade his pursuers.