A RARE PAIR OF CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL AND GILT-BRONZE FIGURAL PRICKET CANDLESTICKS

Details

A RARE PAIR OF CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL AND GILT-BRONZE FIGURAL PRICKET CANDLESTICKS
KANGXI

Each portly foreigner with muscular arms shown in a similar kneeling position clasping the end of a scarf in one hand and supporting the drip pan above with the other hand, wearing vests with toggle closures similarly but not identically decorated with bands of confronted horses and the flowers of the seasons on front and back, also wearing loose pantaloons with borders of flowerheads, bracelets, anklets and a scarf that billows above the shoulders, the faces well cast with prominent features, one figure with mouth open in a smile and with curly beard, mustache, brows and hair, the other with straight beard, mustache, brows and hair, the hair of each bound with a fillet, the square pedestal base with shaped apron and the drip pan with columnar pricket holder similarly decorated with lotus and flower scroll, some losses to enamels
15in. (38in.) high overall (2)

Lot Essay

Similar bronze kneeling figures supporting a large cloisonné enamel lobed censer on their backs are illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; gongyi meishu (A Complete Collection of Chinese Art; Arts and Crafts), vol. 10, 'Gold, Silver, glass and Enamelware', Beijing, 1987, p. 170, pl. 310. Compare, also, the pair of standing figures holding a rectangular jardiniere, illustrated by Michel Beurdeley, The Chinese Collector through the Centuries, Vermont and Tokyo, 1966, p. 163, fig. 88