Description Seated with legs wide apart on a bench, on a footed base, both hands holding a hu tablet, the headress displaying three phoenixes by which she can be identified as the Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn, the garment borders and shawl decorated with blossoms and scrolls in engraving. Remains of a lacquer coating with gilding and red colour to the bench. The two pins at the base belong to the now lost figures of children. Front part of the socle filled with lacquered wood. The Daoist goddess Bixia Yuanjun 碧霞元君, Sovereign of the clouds of dawn, is clearly identifiable by her headdress consisting of three phoenixes and the hu-board she holds in front of her chest. She should not be confused with her two main attendants Yanguang Niangniang 眼光娘娘 (Goddess of Eyesight) and Zisun Niangniang 子孙娘娘 (Goddess of Children), who wear similar headdresses but hold an eye and a baby respectively as identifying attributes. Among other things, Bixia Yuanjun is also the female deity who presides over Taishan (Taishan Niangniang 泰山娘娘) in Shandong province, one of China`s Five Great Mountains. Here, a large temple complex is dedicated to her. Representations of Bixia Yuanjun are consequently found in this area. As a deity responsible for male offspring, she is worshipped mainly in Northern China, and thus corresponds to the bodhisattva Guanyin in his female manifestation, who is paid homage to in Southern China. The sinologist Susan Naquin, who has worked extensively on this subject, states that Bixia figures are particularly common in German collections, as they were apparently acquired by the German residents in the leasehold territory of Kiaotschou (Jiaozhou) (1898-1914) in Shandong province.尺寸_1: Dimensions Height 53.4 cm出处: Provenance Collection Dr. Heinrich Dirksen (1861—1935), thence by descent