Ten Top Collections in Beijing Palace Museum (10)---White-Glazed Sitting Statue of Avalokitesvara Made in Dehua Kiln(德化窑白釉观音坐像)

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Height: 28 cm; Diameter of Pedestal: 13.3 cm

The Goddess of Mercy with plump and smooth-skinned oval face and benevolent expression lowers her head and eyes and seems to be watching all living creatures in the world. She wears high coiffeur decorated in the middle with ruyi-shaped head ornament, hood, long shawl and ruyi-shaped necklace and pendant. Her hands are hidden in the clothes while one leg is half revealed and the other is crossed. Through the drooping and undulating drapes, the Goddess’s bearing is dimly visible. The statue is glazed white and hollow inside; its back is inscribed with the three-character seal mark of “He Chao Zong” in intaglio.

White porcelain of the Ming Dehua kiln pursued perfect jade quality and developed its own school. This statue is a masterpiece of the Ming porcelain master He Chaozong, whose artistic achievement represents Dehua kiln’s high level.

For more collections, go to Beijing Palace Museum

Ten Top Collections in Beijing Palace Museum(9)--- Lu Style Embroidered Scroll Picture of Hibiscus and Two Ducks(鲁绣芙蓉鸳鸯图)

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Length: 140cm. Width: 57cm.

This embroidered scroll picture is an outstanding example of Lu (now in Shandong Province) style embroidery. It is embroidered on dark-coloured satin with two-strained, multi-coloured silk threads. The needle has replaced the painting brush in bringing out the delicate texture of the rockery and flower petals by imitating the blurred edges in traditional Chinese painting. The hibiscus is bright in colour, and the two ducks and rockery form an interesting contrast. Unlike the Su (now in Suzhou city) style embroidery of the south that uses thin thread of light colour, this picture displays the simple and vigorous style of the northern folk embroidery.

Following the tradition of Lu style embroidery, the embroiderers of this picture used a great variety of stitches, such as overlapping, knot-tying, joint, diagonal, braid and flat stitches. Threads of different thickness, ranging from 0.02cm to 0.05cm, were used for the main and secondary parts of the picture. The stitches are closely and smoothly executed to produce good texture, spacing and flowing lines. As threads of more than 20 beautiful colours are used, this picture fully displays the vigour, bold style and beauty of Lu style embroidery. Compared with the original picture, this embroidered picture emphasizes the three-dimensional effect of a relief sculpture.

For more collections, go to Beijing Palace Museum