Antique Chinese & Japanese PorcelainEuropean Ceramics & Works of Art
Pair of Chinese blanc de chine ‘nodding head’ figures of ladies, Kangxi (1662-1722), of graceful form, standing upon rocky bases with toes protruding from the hems of their gowns, both with tall chignons coiling at the back, wearing outer mantles and long flowing robes with high collars, pendant tassels and ruyi-head detail to the neck and shoulders, each holding in the right hand a child wearing breeches and boots with a pipe.
Dimensions:
Height: 67cm. (26 3/8in.)
Condition:
Little chip on pipe of one child
Notes:
Blanc de chine was manufactured at the kilns in Dehua, renowned for their creamy-white, translucent porcelain. The high levels of pure china stone in the local clay resulted in a hard and sugary body particularly suited to the production of moulded figures. Large ‘nodding’ figures such as these, with a conical extension on the separate heads, were made at Dehua largely for export to Europe, where they adorned the houses and palaces of the rich and wealthy. Similar examples can still be found in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (RCIN 58988), the Dresden Palace Museum (PO 8658; PO 8660) and the Royal Danish Collection at Rosenborg (307; included in an inventory of 1716). See also P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine (New York: 1969) pl.104A. These figures are closely related to traditional blanc de chine depictions of the Buddhist deity Guanyin, while simultaneously referencing the Virgin Mary. Both devotional figures are associated with compassion and divine mercy. Though Guanyin was traditionally depicted in male form, porcelain statues testify to the increasing association of the deity with the Christian Holy Mother from the Song onwards.
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