Introduction and Patterns of Marian Icon through Standing Dehua Songzhi Guanyin Statues in the 17th Century

The Dehua Songzhi Guanyin (送子觀音像) is a type of statue where Guanyin Bodhisattva holds a child, made of 17th-century ivory-colored ceramic from Dehua County(德化窯), Fujian Province(福建省), China. The typical white ceramic Dehua Songzhi Guanyin appeared similar to the Madonna and Child icon to the Europeans’ eyes. This thesis particularly focuses on the standing Dehua Songzhi Guanyin statues as they seem prominently influenced by the Marian Icon and scrutinizes in detail how the Icon was introduced. The Marian Icon which influenced the Dehua Songzhi Guanyin appears to have been introduced through a synergy of the ivory Christian statues made by Chinese artisans migrating to the Philippines and the migration of Marian Icons from Spain and Flandre. The Chinese artisans in the Philippines penetrated the niche market formed across the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade route, which connected the Philippines and Mexico, and to Europe, with their ivory Christian statues. These artisans harnessed their network within their home city, Zhangzhou, to influence the spread of Marian devotions, Marian icons, and Marian statues into the Fujian region. This can be deduced from the fact that Fujian, where folk religion had noticeably been dominant, was home to the manufacture of ivory Dehua Songzhi Guanyin, a combination of Virgin Mary and Guanyin Bodhisattva, which seems to have been influenced by ivory Christian statues. Mid-17th century, however, saw the end of the golden age of ivory craft and a dramatic increase in the pottery export, which was relatively cheaper. This trend caused the export hub to shift to Dehua. The techniques for manufacturing ivory Christian statues would also have transferred to Dehua, with the migration of artisans from Zhangzhou migrating within the Fujian region and the spread of ivory Christian statues. The similarities in the manufacture methods for the ivory and Dehua ceramic, in the color, and in the model have been presented as the basis for such speculation. This thesis aims to study more specific routes of ivory Christian statues and the transfer of manufacturing techniques to study the introduction of Marian Icons prominent in the Dehua Songzhi Guanyin.