Two Chinese white porcelain (blanc de Chine) figures of the divinity Guanyin seated on a rocky throne in maharajalila posture (the Buddhist pose of royal ease), the right leg raised and folded across the left knee, an infant sitting on her lap; to her left, on a rocky outcrop, the scroll of wisdom tied with a ribbon. Her hair is dressed in plaits forming a coil, and covered by a mantle falling to the shoulders; the voluminous long robes parted at the chest revealing a necklace with a lotus ornament, and an under-robe from which one foot protrudes below. The right arm emerging from the sleeve holds the boy, who is largely bare, but wears a belted sash round his stomach, and has on his head a tuft of hair; his right hand holding a brush and his left a silver ingot, emblems of learning and wealth. The rocks are gnarled in front, and the hollow model is closed by a flat, unglazed base with an air vent in the centre.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume I.