A Chinese white soapstone model of Guanyin 18th century, seated on a rocky plinth wearing long robes, her hair secured in a high chignon and covered by a headdress, holding a small vase of flowers in her hands, a small child standing to her left, with a parrot perched to her right, a four character mark which reads Wang Zhu, jing xie, and with a seal mark for the artist, a paper label for John Sparks Ltd., a hardwood stand, 16cm. (2)

Provenance: Lt Col John Grenville Fortescue (1896-1969), of Dropmore, Buckinghamshire and Boconnoc, Cornwall, and thence by descent.

This rare figure relates to a small group of carvings by Wang Zhu, an artist prevalent in the Qianlong reign, which includes an elaborate soapstone mountain in the Tianjin Museum, China.