Dehua White Porcelain Guanyin with Willow and Vase

Willow, vase and lotus give this seated Guanyin a clear visual rhythm. The branch rises above one shoulder, the small vase rests close to the body, and layered petals broaden the base. In white-glazed Dehua porcelain, modelling and shadow carry the composition without applied color.

Guanyin is revered as the bodhisattva who hears the cries of the world. In Chinese Buddhist imagery, the willow signifies her power to relieve suffering, while the vase is associated with the water of compassion. Together they make this more than a serene figure: it is an image traditionally welcomed into the home for prayers of mercy, peace and compassionate protection.

Dehua Guanyin figures also have a remarkable history beyond China. In the early eighteenth century, a white porcelain Guanyin in the Saxon royal collections became the model for an early Meissen version. That encounter belongs to Europe's long pursuit of Chinese porcelain and helps explain why Dehua devotional figures became so recognizable abroad. The present work continues that Dehua tradition in a contemporary devotional form.

Without applied color, the expression, robe folds, willow leaves and lotus relief are revealed entirely through porcelain and changing light. Three heights allow the same devotional image to move from a personal altar to a larger, lasting presence in the home.

• Origin: Dehua, Fujian, China
• Material: White-glazed Dehua porcelain
• Figure: Seated Guanyin with willow branch, vase and lotus pedestal
• 28 cm size: 28.0 cm H × 14.5 cm W × 13.0 cm D / 11.0 in H × 5.7 in W × 5.1 in D
• 35 cm size: 35.0 cm H × 19.5 cm W × 16.5 cm D / 13.8 in H × 7.7 in W × 6.5 in D
• 41 cm size: 41.0 cm H × 21.0 cm W × 19.0 cm D / 16.1 in H × 8.3 in W × 7.5 in D
• Dimensions are hand measured; slight variation is expected