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Lot Essay
Carved from a substantial piece of mottled green jadeite suffused with russet and pale whitish inclusions, this figure depicts a standing Guanyin with remarkable presence. The large size of the stone allows for an elegant and elongated rendering of the figure, while the gently downcast, heavily lidded eyes impart a serene and contemplative expression.
The figure is shown wearing long, layered robes falling in graceful folds, the flowing sleeves carved with ends that appear to flutter in the air. The hair is neatly drawn up into a topknot. One hand holds a ruyi scepter, while the other grasps a rosary, the two attributes symbolizing auspicious blessings in Chinese culture and conveying wishes for both worldly fulfillment and spiritual salvation.
A similar but larger (72.4 cm.) jadeite figure of Guanyin holding a pure water vase, shown standing on a similarly carved wood stand, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was exhibited in Another World Lies Beyond: Chinese Art and the Divine, 24 August 2019–5 January 2020. Another comparable jadeite figure of Guanyin of similar mottled green color, but of smaller size (39.4 cm.), was sold at Christie’s New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1515. A further related example, slightly larger in size (65 cm.), was sold in The T.Y. Chao Private and Family Trust Collections of Important Chinese Ceramics and Jade Carvings, Part II; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19 May 1987, lot 374.
The figure is shown wearing long, layered robes falling in graceful folds, the flowing sleeves carved with ends that appear to flutter in the air. The hair is neatly drawn up into a topknot. One hand holds a ruyi scepter, while the other grasps a rosary, the two attributes symbolizing auspicious blessings in Chinese culture and conveying wishes for both worldly fulfillment and spiritual salvation.
A similar but larger (72.4 cm.) jadeite figure of Guanyin holding a pure water vase, shown standing on a similarly carved wood stand, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was exhibited in Another World Lies Beyond: Chinese Art and the Divine, 24 August 2019–5 January 2020. Another comparable jadeite figure of Guanyin of similar mottled green color, but of smaller size (39.4 cm.), was sold at Christie’s New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1515. A further related example, slightly larger in size (65 cm.), was sold in The T.Y. Chao Private and Family Trust Collections of Important Chinese Ceramics and Jade Carvings, Part II; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19 May 1987, lot 374.