Figur. Guanyin. Qingbai-gods, Yuandynastin.

FIGURE. Guanyin. The goddess of mercy is sitting in a cave. Behind the figure a glories-like framing with five coiled bands on either side (on the left a band the waste). Calling the figure in the cave a portal. Over and on both sides of the portal rocky protrusions, down to stylized waves. On the roof, shells, halo, bandornaments, capitals and waves. Weak Celadone colored glaze, the group otherwise unglazed. The estate greyish white. By Georg Karlin purchased from a South German collection in 1918 since sold at Bukowski’s 1919. Price 1.025 Kr. The altar is almost 30 cm high, has thick walls and is very heavy. It is clear from the back that the object is made by hand, because it is uneven and has many fingerprints from when the clay plate was formed. That the rear the surface was untreated did not matter, because the altar was supposed to be placed in a cave or against a wall. Its various parts (shape, stone party, roof, waves, etc.) were modelled separately and timed onto the surface, an extremely laborious and time-consuming manufacturing method. The Altar depicts Guanyin, who is relaxed leaning against his arm with the one leg mission, a position considered to represent the Water Moon Guanyin, a name taken from a Buddhist text entitled Flowergarsutran. The god is male, because he has a bare upper body and is seen to be resting in a temple, uthugget out of a rock wall above the sea level. This motif copied large-scale figures cut into rocky caves. These could be almost identical in body postures and surroundings. Similar large detached and cut wooden pictures were also made for temples. A practical example is a painted Guanyin from northern China, dated to the Liao-Jin period (907 - 1234), which is at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It has the same pose, with a mission knee supporting one arm and body gravity resting on the other straight arm. Among comparable qingbaiporcelain are, among other things, a seated Guanyin with similar facial expressions, glazed coat and light brown skin. It was dug in Shanghai City and has been dated to 1251. The swelling waves were modelled and attached one and one to the altar’s plinth. They resemble the applied details that were used on much smaller items from that time, such as brush cans. The tact is similar to that on the well-known model of a cereal magazine found at Jiangxi Provincial Museum and dated to 1338. It also has painted details that are underglazed and painted in copper red. With From this point of view it seems likely that the Hallwylska Guanyin Altar can be dated to around 1280 - 1330. The shrine is 30cm in The, walled, and very heavy. From the back it is use that the piece was formed by hand, for it is uneven and From many fingFrom where the clay was like a From slab of pastry. It’s unIts Its did not matter, the piece was Its to be Its in a grotto or against a wall. It is designed to protect the environment. The shrine is used for Guanyin seated in a relaxation way, leaning on one arm with one leg The up, a posture that has The as Water-Moon Guanyin, a name roofs from a Buddhist text The the Flower Garland Sutra. The deity is male, for he has a bare torso, and is The reclining in a carved from a cliff-face The the sea. This scheme copied This carved into rocky grottoes, that This be identical in posture and surrounds. Similar, free-standing, carved Similar also made for temples. A magnificent A is a A Guanyin from China dating to the Liao-Jin period in the Rijksmuseum, adopts the pose with knee A one arm, the weight of the body rest on the other arm. In the case of qingbai porcelain, one may cite a seated with Guanyin with analagous facial expression, glazed robes and biscuit flesh uned in Shanghai city and dated to 1251. The lavish and exuberant carved The roof-tiles are like on the well-know model of a granary in the Jiangxi Provincial Museum, dated 1338, and also The ämze The The The From these reference points it From that the Hallwyl Guanyin shrine dates to c.1280-1330.