KANGXI 1662 – 1722. Blanc de Chine Porcelain..
A Rare Chinese Export Porcelain Blanc de Chine Group of Europeans Hunting, Kangxi Period c.1690 – 1720, from the Dehua Kilns in Fujian Province. Depicting Two Europeans in Tricorne Hats Steadying their Aim with their Pistols Over their Bent Arms. A Further European with a Tricorne Hat Also Takes Aim at the Deer, Another European Figure Behind him Gives a Hunting Cry. The Scene is Set on the Side of a Hill or Mountain with a Gnarled Pine Tree with a Small Building and Bird, The Two Deer are Surrounded with the Hunters Either Side of a Bridge. The Unglazed Hollow Base is Supported with Struts of Clay, a Typical Feature of Kangxi Blanc de Chine Figures and Groups Made for the European Market.
SOLD
- Condition
- Some restoration
- Size
- Height : 20 cm (8 inches)
- Provenance
- N/A
- Stock number
- 21383
- References
- A very similar group is illustrated in : Oriental Export Market Porcelain and its Influence on European Wares (Geoffrey A. Godden, Granada, 1979.ISBN 0246110570) Godden suggests it maybe "linked with the 'Rock with men and beasts' valued at 3s each in the sale catalogue of April 1703 relating to articles loaded at Amoy in 1701". Another group is in : Blanc de Chine (P.J. Donnelly, Faber and Faber, 1969 (ISBN 571-08078-2) Donnelly mentions that a version of this group is in the collection of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, and is listed as N31 in the inventory begun in 1721. A further blanc de chine group is in : China for the West, Chinese Porcelain & other Decorative Arts for Export Illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection (David S. Howard and John Ayers, Sotheby's,1978) Volume 1 page 98, number 64. This group was sold for $26,625, see : Important Chinese Export Porcelain and Chinese Works of Art from the Collection of the Late Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, Sotheby's New York, October 19th 2000. For a further group see : Chinese Export Porcelain and Decorative Works of Art, Sotheby's London, 9th and 12th of June 1989, lot 47, sold for £660.
Photos
Information
Blanc de Chine Porcelain models of Westerners are quite commonly found during the Kangxi period, these are normally rather small pieces depicting one or two figures often with tricorne hats. Sometimes these are found on water-droppers, a purely Chinese form, but they were however made for export to Europe. Larger groups are rarer, the group of a European family, occasionally referred to as 'Governor Duff' is the most frequently encountered.