Antique Consecrated Fine Songzi Guanyin Holding Infant, Inscription, Lucite Base, China(16057)

Description

AI Summary Comments

AI rates this piece as  High Collector Tier  for the following reasons:

Unlike grand temple statues commissioned by wealthy monasteries, a small figure like this was carved for a private family altar. It was deeply revered in the home by a couple praying for male heirs to preserve their lineage. Domestic altar pieces with documented dates from the late-18th to early-19th century are in a highly active collector tier. This piece possesses a complete, explicit data set carved  with a fixed date and year and devotional attribution including the names of the family members who paid the local carver to craft this figure as a votive offering for their household altar which elevates its collectibility exponentially.  The cavity has retained its fitted original cover for over two centuries which adds a massive premium. The indigenous timber grain with deep age lines, tool marks, and remnants of red-and-white base pigments validates its age naturally.

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Source:
Lee Irwin, “Divinity and Salvation: The Great Goddesses of China,” in Asian Folklore Studies, Indiana University, Vol. 49, 1990, pp 53-68.