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Dear Mr Lee & Friends

My grandmother left me with several porcelain Guan Yin statues. They are made, i think, before the Cultural Revolution. The artist left his stamp at the base of the statue. He is Nie Sun Xing. According to her, this pair of Guan Yin shows Her before attaining Enlightenment and after Enlightenment (with hood). Are these considered as antiques too? Can I display somemore pics of Guan Yin statues on this forum too? Thank you.
Rinchen

I have not heard the theory that the hood suggests enlightenment, but I do know that the hooded and female Guanyin is generally not before the Song dyansty, previously She had been Male. The hooded Guanyin is first seen in painting images, later in blanc de chine (dehua) ware images and Ming Celadon images. By the later Ming in bronze. I am not sure I would consider these antiques, and I doubt they can be much earlier than the mid 20th century, even if they do pre-date the Cultural revolution.

The feminine aspect of Guanyin (coincidentally) is contemporary with the European popularization of the cult of Mary.

Please feel free to post all the guanyin images you like.

Anthony M. Lee
Asian Art Research

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