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Subject:Re: Help with Chinese Carved Buddha and Porcelain Buddha Marks
Posted By: Jim Wed, Apr 15, 2015
Both figures are Japanese, Hotei, the most popular of the Seven Lucky Gods, or Gods of Good Fortune. He is a sort of Japanese Santa, his sack filled with gifts. The first is soapstone (the mineral talc), and unusual on several points. It is very difficult to date, most are offered by sellers as vintage, and I have only seen one piece dated, from a 1935 San Diego Expo. I think yours may be the oldest I've seen and hope that someone here can date it from the marks. The crack in what appears to be a hollowed tree stump is probably carved.
The mark (first photo) on the porcelain figure is upside down, the second kanji is 'zan', part of a name. Perhaps some others here will fill in the blanks. Regards, Jim
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