A CHINESE BLANC DE CHINE 'WENCHANG' FIGURE GROUP

A CHINESE BLANC DE CHINE 'WENCHANG' FIGURE GROUP
17TH CENTURY

Wenchang, the Daoist God of Literature, wearing flowing scholar's robes and an official's hat from which two ribbons issue, flanked by his acolytes Kuixing, the God of Four Stars, and Zhuyi, the distributor of examination results, standing above Baite, Wenchang's recumbent horse, tacked with a bridle and saddle and accompanied by two attendants, all on a two-tiered rockwork base, 19cm.

Provenance: from a large European private collection of Dehua porcelain acquired from PJ Donnelly by the vendor's father who was a friend, and thence by descent.

Wenchang was one of the most popular Gods of late Imperial China. He was primarily worshipped as a snake god in Sichuan during the Six Dynasties period. His rise to prominence was accompanied by an evolution in his worship. By the Tang period he was venerated as part of the Imperial cult. From the Song period onwards, Wenchang was widely worshiped as the God of Literature, as he is presented in the figure group offered here, particularly by candidates taking their civil service examinations. See Bonhams London, 11th May 2021, lot 193 for a related example. For another comparable figure group depicting Wenchang and his acolytes, see Sotheby's London, 14th December 2021, lot 33.

十七世紀 德化白瓷文昌帝君坐像
來源：歐洲德化瓷器私人收藏，由藏家父親從好友PJ Donnelly 購得，之後由其後人繼承。