A group of four ivory standing figuresMing Dynasty |Comprising: two standing ladies, modelled with short caps, their loose robes deeply incised in a formulaic manner, wood stands; a figure of Shoulao, his eyes downcast under the bulging brow, the ivory of a rich tan tone, wood stand; and a standing figure of Guanyin, her locks finely detailed and held back, adorned with a beaded, looping headpiece, her chest with a beaded necklace terminating in a flowerhead hidden by the upper hem of the robe, the ivory of a rich, mottled beige and tan tone, wood stand.|The tallest: 23.5cm (9 1/8in) high (6).|Provenance|The modelling of the facial features and hair of the darker figure of Guanyin in the present lot (last to the right in the illustration) are very comparable to those of another figure of Guanyin, sold in our New Bond Street salerooms, on 7 November 2013, lot 315, especially in the detail of the carefully defined, swept back locks. The figures are further related by the decorative motif of large flower-heads pending from beaded strings. |Another figure with similarly-formed locks and the same detail of the floral pendant hidden by the robe, is the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, dated to the 12th-14th century by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum no. 34.26.2a,b. For further comparison, see an ivory figure of Guanyin dated circa 1580-1644, illustrated in Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, London, 1984, pl.32.