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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Guanyin

Figure
1600-1700 (made)
Place of origin

This figure represents the Chinese goddess Guanyin, the Compassionate Bodhisattva (literally 'enlightened being'), sitting on a rock. It was made at Dehua in Fujian province, in southern China. Fujian, a tea-growing region, attracted the attention of European merchants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many of these figurines were brought back to Europe, where this type of white Dehua porcelain became known as 'Blanc de Chine'.

Dehua specialized in whitewares. The finest products are those with an ivory-coloured glaze, such as this Guanyin. A local publication of about 1604 describes how a 'truly fine' porcelain stone was dug by driving a shaft into the side of a hill, from where the material was then pulled out with a rope. The earliest pieces were Dehua porcelain is made of locally mined porcelain stone, with little or no clay, which thinly potted. The materials of the body and glaze integrate so well that they appear to be of a single translucent material.

The most common types of Dehua products were incense burners and Buddhist figures. Brought to Europe as exotic curiosity items, Dehua porcelain was often gilded or enamelled there in the eighteenth century - by which date Europeans were familiar with Chinese polychrome ceramics and Dehua wares may have been judged too plain. The kilns also made figures of Dutch men and women and of the Virgin and Child for export to Europe.

Delve deeper

Discover more about this object
read Blanc de Chine – white porcelain from China 'Blanc de Chine, a Continuous Conversation', a display of contemporary and historic white porcelains made in Dehua, is open in our Ceramics (Room 146) and China (Room 44) galleries until 10 May 2020.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGuanyin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Porcelain, glazed
Physical description
This figure represents the Chinese goddess Guanyin, the Compassionate Bodhisattva (literally 'enlightened being'), sitting on a rock. It was made at Dehua in Fujian province, in southern China. Fujian, a tea-growing region, attracted the attention of European merchants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many of these figurines were brought back to Europe, where this type of white Dehua porcelain became known as 'Blanc de Chine'.

Dehua specialized in whitewares. The finest products are those with an ivory-coloured glaze, such as this Guanyin. A local publication of about 1604 describes how a 'truly fine' porcelain stone was dug by driving a shaft into the side of a hill, from where the material was then pulled out with a rope. The earliest pieces were Dehua porcelain is made of locally mined porcelain stone, with little or no clay, which thinly potted. The materials of the body and glaze integrate so well that they appear to be of a single translucent material.

The most common types of Dehua products were incense burners and Buddhist figures. Brought to Europe as exotic curiosity items, Dehua porcelain was often gilded or enamelled there in the eighteenth century - by which date Europeans were familiar with Chinese polychrome ceramics and Dehua wares may have been judged too plain. The kilns also made figures of Dutch men and women and of the Virgin and Child for export to Europe.
Dimensions
  • Height: 39.3cm
  • Length: 19.9cm
  • Depth: 15.0cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Xin mo zi' in a square seal stamped on back
Gallery label
Guanyin China, Dehua 1600–1700 Dehua, in southern China, specialised in modelled and moulded figures, small tea wares and incense burners. They were made of glazed but unpainted porcelain stone, which fired to a beautiful creamy white. First produced for the domestic Chinese market, they were later exported to Europe, where they became known as ‘blanc-dechine’. The Buddhist figure, Guanyin, is the Bodhisattva (‘enlightened being’) of compassion. Porcelain, with ivory-coloured glaze Museum no. C.548-1910(September 2009)
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This figure represents the Chinese goddess Guanyin, the Compassionate Bodhisattva (literally 'enlightened being'), sitting on a rock. It was made at Dehua in Fujian province, in southern China. Fujian, a tea-growing region, attracted the attention of European merchants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many of these figurines were brought back to Europe, where this type of white Dehua porcelain became known as 'Blanc de Chine'.

Dehua specialized in whitewares. The finest products are those with an ivory-coloured glaze, such as this Guanyin. A local publication of about 1604 describes how a 'truly fine' porcelain stone was dug by driving a shaft into the side of a hill, from where the material was then pulled out with a rope. The earliest pieces were Dehua porcelain is made of locally mined porcelain stone, with little or no clay, which thinly potted. The materials of the body and glaze integrate so well that they appear to be of a single translucent material.

The most common types of Dehua products were incense burners and Buddhist figures. Brought to Europe as exotic curiosity items, Dehua porcelain was often gilded or enamelled there in the eighteenth century - by which date Europeans were familiar with Chinese polychrome ceramics and Dehua wares may have been judged too plain. The kilns also made figures of Dutch men and women and of the Virgin and Child for export to Europe.
Bibliographic reference
Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young (eds.) Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publishing, 2008, pp. 81.
Collection
Accession number
C.548-1910

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Record createdSeptember 21, 2006
Record URL
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