Page 78 - Bonhams Catalog Cohen and Cohen Jan 24, 2023 New York

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A RARE FAMILLE ROSE GROUP OF A ‘STANDING DUTCH The woman stands to the left, the man to the right with his left arm
COUPLE’ around her shoulder, her left hand held by his left hand, in a position of
Qianlong period, circa 1750-1755 respect and affection. The modeling is accomplished in a naïve style
The male figure with ochre curly shoulder length hair and wearing which raises the question as to the design source. Their clothing is
a black flat-crowned hat, a light blue coat decorated with red and typical eighteenth-century European but decorated in the Chinese style
pink flowers, a dark brown waistcoat embroidered with gold-thread with prunus and other flowers. The Chinese were as curious about
borders, a pair of red knee breeches, white stockings and black Westerners as Westerners were curious about the Chinese, so it is
heels; the lady in Chinese style garments, with a richly enameled red possible that these could have found a market within China, although
kerchief decorated with oleander over her hair, green top and long pink no know figures are in established Asian collections.
patterned dress, her right hand holding a blue handkerchief and her
left hand outstretched and entwined in the gentleman’s left hand, his The plinth provides another clue that indicates these groups might
feet slightly splayed, perhaps in preparation for dancing, both standing have been popular with the Chinese market and not made purely
on a waisted rectangular base. for export, as this style is sometimes found on pieces made for the
9 3/4in (25cm) high domestic market.

$25,000 - 40,000 Perhaps they were “curiosities for those interested in the physiognomy,
costumes and social habits of Westerners” as suggested by Sargent
乾隆時期 約1750-1755年 粉彩荷蘭愛侶立像擺飾 (William Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese
Ceramic Figures, Salem, 1991, p. 220). There exist books with
Provenance: illustrations of European figures that were made for the Chinese Court
Collection of Nelson (1908-1979) & Happy Rockefeller (1926-2015) and Emperor Qianlong encouraged the use of European scenes and
Espirito Santo Collection, Lisbon figures on certain Imperial items.
Published: A slightly earlier version of this standing couple, on a flattened
Cohen & Cohen, The Elephant in the Room, Antwerp, 2019, pp. 54- base and with different molds for the faces is also recorded (see
57, no. 21 Cohen & Cohen, London, 2018, No. 55). The faces and clothing
Michel Beurdeley, Porcelain of the East India Companies, Paris, 1962, on this earlier version are the same as found on kneeling figures of
col.pl. V and cat. no. 2 Europeans carrying a porcelain vase with a Qianlong mark, which is
further evidence that these figures may have originated in porcelain
來源： workshops making wares predominantly for the Chinese market.
尔逊 (1908-1979)及海貝(1926-2015)·洛克菲勒伉儷(Nelson & Happy
Rockefeller)舊藏 Related works: The Copeland Collection, Peabody Essex Museum,
里斯本Espirito Santo家族舊藏 in Sargent 1991, no. 106, 220-221, for which see related objects;
National Palace Museum of Ireland, Dublin has a white version; The
出版： British Museum, an undecorated example possible from Jingdezhen
倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《The Elephant in the Room》，安特衛 though identified as Dehua.
普，2019年，頁54.57，圖版編號21
Michel Beurdeley，《Porcelain of the East India Companies》 The design of the three-dimensional figural sculpture may have an
，Paris，1962，彩版V，圖版編號2 earlier two-dimensional prototype depicted on porcelain such as the
European couple delineated in the polychrome painted dish dated to
circa 1715-1725 in the collection of the British Museum, Franks.590.
For another example, in different enamel colors, see Cohen & Cohen,
Double Dutch, Belgium, 2006, pp. 26-27, no. 14.

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