Page 15 - Tabor Collection Christie's New York April 10 2019

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A LARGE PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE LADIES
CIRCA 1800
Wearing iron-red head scarves over foral robes,
their eyes downcast, with crosses around their
necks
20¼ in. (51.4 cm.) high (2)
$12,000-18,000
Clearly modeled after tradtional fgures of the
Chinese goddess Guanyin, these stately ladies
curiously display Christian crosses. Guanyin,
originally a Buddhist boddhisattva, slowly
morphed over the centuries from a male deity to a
female one, and in the China trade period became
more and more like the Christian Mary, whose
characteristics of compassion and mercy Guanyin
shared.
Nearly identical, single examples were in the
Mottahedeh Collection (Howard & Ayers, op. cit.,
p. 615) and the Hodrof Collection (D.S. Howard,
The Choice of the Private Trader, p. 259).

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A PAIR OF 'CANTON FAMILLE ROSE'
ELEPHANT CANDLEHOLDERS
FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY
The beasts standing foursquare with their large
heads turned in, on their backs saddle blankets
supporting candle nozzles
6 in. (15.2 cm.) high (2)
$4,000-6,000

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