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- 108 Guanyin statue
glazed stoneware, ht. 20.2 cm
Ming/Qing period, 17th-18th centuries fmn Statue of seated Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, cov�ered with crackled creamy-white glaze. The figure is missing its left hand and also an object (perhaps originally a vase) on its left knee. The figurine was found at Anyang.
109 Carving of the sacred fungus of immortality white jade, I. 5.5 cm
Qing dynasty, 18th century arm Jade carving in the form of the sacred fungus of immortality (lingzhi) with the stems done in openwork. Since Han times, Daoist literature has mentioned lingzhi fungus or mushrooms as being able to confer longevity.
110 Roof tile ends
glazed earthenware, d. 12.4 cm and 13.8 cm Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods JMH
Both roof tile ends with dragons in relief were found in rubbish pile at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing in 1927. The green-glazed tile (right) with some irridescence shows a frontal view of a dragon with three claws in the Ming style. The blue tile (left) of dragon with five claws appears quite new and is probably a tile which was broken during the reconstruction of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests following its destruction in 1889 due to fire caused by lightning. Ancient buildings in China often had their tile roofs repaired or replaced, so in many cases the tiles were more recent than the original structure.
111 Bowl
porcelain, celadon glaze, d. 13 cm
Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 JMH
Interesting bowl with the interior divided into two parts
forming the Daoist yin-yang symbol when seen from
above. Pale celadon glaze inside and out. Exterior with
impressed decoration of chrysanthemums.
112 Water container
glazed stoneware, Yixing ware, ht. 7.5 cm Qing dynasty, 19th century JMH Dark green glazed water container in shape of lotus leaf containing small boy standing at centre. For a similar example, see K. S. Lo Collection in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Part II, Hong Kong, 1984, page 165, no. 183. Yixing ware is a brown stoneware produced at the Yixing kilns in Jiangsu province.
113 Snuff bottles
red lacquer, ivory, glass and white jade,
ht. 8 cm, 7.5 cm, 7.8 cm and 6 cm
Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 ARM
The use of snuff was introduced to China from Europe
early in the Qing dynasty. The snuff containers were
made of various materials such as ceramic, lacquer,
ivory, glass and various semi-precious stones. The
carved red lacquer bottle on left has a scene of three
people in a garden setting. The ivory bottle is in the
shape of a young boy or servant holding a ewer, with the high hairknot serving as the spoon handle. The glass bottle trimmed with green has an inside painted scene of two scholars. The white jade bottle on right has an incised flower design on one side.
114 Book of portraits (detail)
ink and colours on paper
late Qing dynasty, late 19th-early 20th centuries FMN This book of portraits was probably a sample book carried around by an artist to show his ability at painting ancestral portraits and to give his clients a choice of the style of the painting. Often only the face would be painted and later stuck down onto mass produced paintings of a full-costumed, seated figure missing its head. Many Chinese hung ancestral portraits in their homes at an ancestral altar to show their filial piety in the hope of gaining good fortune.
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