Figure of the goddess Guanyin, standing on a rock, her arms hanging loosely in front of her body, her gown fluttering around her. Her hair arranged in a topknot, a necklace around her neck. Her sleeves hang loosely from her wrists. On her shoulder a square 'fisherman' seal. Covered with an ivory-coloured glaze. Heavily potted with a firing-crack in the base. Provided with a Chinese carved wooden base. The tradition in the Dehua kilns of producing three-dimensional figures is perhaps best illustrated by the many different figures of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of charity and mercy. Early pieces date from the mid-17th century, and beautiful figures of Guanyin are made to this day in the same style. The lack of documentation makes them difficult to date and neither the heavily potted body nor the ivory colour are determining factors. The face of this piece is finely detailed, something less common on earlier pieces. At present, I am using Donnelly's dating, which places the fisherman's mark in the second half of the 18th century. It should be remembered, however, that the production of blanc de chine figures increased dramatically in the second half of the 19th century. Moreover...