Dehua Rose-Glazed Nanhai Guanyin Porcelain Sculpture

Nanhai Guanyin sits above a layered pink lotus, one hand raised in a gesture of reassurance while a pale green bamboo stem bends across the shoulder. Small blossoms travel through the soft rose glaze, giving the figure a botanical rhythm that is unusual among monochrome Dehua representations.

Guanyin has been one of Dehua's most enduring sculptural subjects. Historical Dehua figures entered European princely collections, and early Meissen even copied Chinese Guanyin models in red stoneware and porcelain. This contemporary work takes a different route: color is used to distinguish lotus, bamboo and robe while preserving the bodhisattva's composed frontality.

The Nanhai name connects Guanyin with the Southern Sea tradition and a place of compassionate presence. On a home altar or in a contemplative room, the raised hand, bamboo, and lotus express mercy that listens and protection offered with gentleness. The figure is chosen as a blessing for peace, family harmony, and steadiness through difficulty, while the rose glaze gives the devotional image unusual warmth.

• Origin: Dehua, Fujian, China
• Material: Porcelain with rose, pink and pale green glaze
• Figure: Nanhai Guanyin seated on a layered lotus with bamboo and blossom details
• 11 in 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
• 14 in 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
• 16 in 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
• 18 in size: 46.0 cm H × 26.5 cm W × 23.0 cm D / 18.1 in H × 10.4 in W × 9.1 in D
• 20 in size: 51.0 cm H × 27.5 cm W × 24.0 cm D / 20.1 in H × 10.8 in W × 9.4 in D
• Dimensions are hand measured; slight variation is expected