Q & A

A. G. of Halifax, Nova Scotia writes:

My grandmother handed down this little fellow. It is a blue and white porcelain Buddha. There are no markings on it all. It is three inches high and anatomically correct. I don't know where my grandmother got it. It may have been handed down to her from her ancestors who were Master Mariners and traveled the world. I'd like to know how old it is and if it was made in China or not and what it might be worth. Thank you.

We asked Hugh Bulmer to respond:

Your figure is of a young Chinese boy rather than a Buddha figure, and the style is that of T'Ang Dynasty pottery. Your piece is almost certainly of later date, probably the 19th century and he appears to be made of porcelain

Such a figure is somewhat unusual and I would suggest he would be worth perhaps $500-$600 if he came up for auction.