Page 149 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

This magnificent pair of painted enamel and ivory figures, related to other ivory objects of the period which are recorded
which appears to be unique, depicts two European gentlemen as having been presented from Guangzhou to the Imperial court,
kneeling and holding sumptuous ivory candlesticks. Dating from including a stained ivory box in the form of a finger citron, and an
the Qianlong period, they were traditionally considered to have ivory gourd-shaped pomander, illustrated ibid., pls 63-70.
been made for a religious order or monastery, as noted by David For other examples of luxurious items created as tribute
S. Howard in the exhibition, A Tale of Three Cities: Canton, possibly to furnish the halls of the Summer Palace, see a pair
Shanghai and Hong Kong. Three Centuries of Sino-British Trade of mixed media figures from the collection of H.M. Queen
in the Decorative Arts, London, 1997, p. 153, no. 198.
Mary, consort of King George V, included in the International
However, it is much more likely that these figures were actually Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy, London, 1935-
highly luxurious items created as tribute from Guangzhou 36, no. 2315 (fig. 1), and sold in our London rooms, 14th
to the imperial court, probably as opulent furnishings within November 2001, lot 129. This pair consisted of two Western
the halls of the Summer Palace. Lavishly painted panels, merchants created from wood and ivory depicted kneeling,
enamels and other objects installed at the Summer Palace to each bearing one of the Eight Buddhist Emblems in cloisonné.
decorate halls in a western style also functioned as a tool for the The treatment of the figures is very close: they share the
visualisation of the West, as part of a microcosm of the known same distinctive kneeling posture, and the texture and precise
world, in which the Emperor could envisage himself and the articulation of the ivory heads, hands and wood mitre caps
Middle Kingdom at the centre, surrounded and embraced by is remarkably close. Other features, including the modelling
foreigners in obeisance. The current pair of figures would have of the creases in the robes and tied scarf at the neck, are
fitted perfectly into this opulent vision. As opposed to the actual also technically similar. In a discussion of another pair of
reality of impertinent envoys such as the British diplomat Lord these figures from the collection of Mildred R. and Rafi Y.
MacCartney leading an embassy to the capital supposedly as Mottahedeh, sold at Sotheby’s New York, 29 October 2000,
an equal and refusing to kowtow, in this artistic representation lot 460, originally part of a set of eight bearing the Eight
of the world, such figures represented two wealthy gentlemen, Buddhist Emblems, David Howard and John Ayers noted in
probably British or Dutch, ready to kneel down before the China for the West, vol. 2, London and New York 1978, pp.
Emperor and present luxury items of tribute. 663-665, nos 688 and 688a, 688b and 688c that they were
probably made for the Chinese Court for the furnishing of
The modelling and enamelling of the figures is of superb
quality, the outlines of the decoration painted in gold and ‘pavilions such as those of the Summer Palace’.
vividly coloured enamels, including rich tones of blue, green For other examples of enamel figures depicted holding tribute,
and pink, which are filled in to produce a cloisonné enamel see a pair of cloisonné enamel figures originally from the
effect. This luxurious and impressive decorative technique was collection of T.B. Kitson, sold in our London rooms, 30th May
first introduced from Europe to artists working in Guangzhou, 1961, lot 426, and more recently at Christie’s Paris, 13th June
where wares of this type were routinely made as tribute 2007, lot 27, from the collection of Juan Jose Amezaga; a pair of
items for the Qing court. For examples of pieces made in this cloisonné enamel ‘hehe’ twin boys, sold in our New York rooms,
technique see a you-form vessel, a double-gourd vase and a 18th September 2007, lot 156 and a cloisonné enamel figure of
covered bowl illustrated in Tributes from Guangdong to the a kneeling foreigner depicted holding a vessel forming a lamp
Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, pls 42, 43 and 48 respectively. stand, attributed to the early Qing dynasty, from the Qing court
collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated
Among the various crafts in Guangdong, ivory carving was one
of the most technically advanced. With the lifting of the ban in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum.
on maritime trade with foreign countries in 1684, there was Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 92.
an increase in ivory imports providing sufficient raw materials See also a Qianlong reign-marked enamelled porcelain figure
for the development of ivory carving in the region. Guangzhou of a European in similar posture, depicted kneeling carrying
rapidly became the centre of this industry attracting craftsmen a porcelain candlestick, sold in these rooms, 17th May 1989,
who combined their traditional carving skills with Western lot 331, from the collection of Hermann von Mandl of Vienna.
technology and imported materials, creating products with Interestingly, a list of porcelains supplied to the Court in 1729
a distinct regional flavour. The ivory candlesticks held by the by Tang Ying, the future superintendent of the Jingdezhen
European figures are in themselves superb work of art, intricately kilns, includes as item 29 ‘Copies of European figures and
carved and reticulated and of a complex form. They closely models after life executed with carved and embossed work’.

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