This is a very rare Dehua enamelled ware of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, seated on the back of a lion. She has a scroll in her left hand. The base has moulded flowering peony branches on the front and incised flowering lotus branches on the back. Guanyin and the lion are cold painted in polychrome colours of green, red, sand and black. Known to the Chinese as zhuyoubai (pork-grease white) or xiangyabai (ivory white), and to the Europeans, blanc de chine (white porcelain), Dehua enamelled wares were especially popular in Europe in the 18th century.In Mahayana Buddhism, Guanyin is an enlightened being who postpones entering nirvana to remain with ordinary people to help them.
