A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE ELEPHANT AND VASE HOLDERS

Details

A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE ELEPHANT AND VASE HOLDERS
19TH CENTURY, PROBABLY DAOGUANG

Each beast standing with head lowered and turned to the side, the hide of peach tone with fine, short black hair markings overall, with a separate gu-form vase decorated with lotus and foliate scroll fitted into a circular aperture in the center of the saddle, hung with layers of blankets variously decorated with pink peony, bats suspending chimes amidst foliate scroll on a yellow ground, gilt diaper patterns and beaded chains hung with tassles, the trappings decorated with bands of multicolored chevrons interrupted by large circular medallions on the haunches and under the tail, gilt highlights, some minor restoration to vases
13in. (33cm.) long (2)

Lot Essay

Compare the pair of similar elephant and vase holders, dated late Qianlong, the elephants with heads turned, illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, p. 129, pl. 181, where it is noted that they are decorated in 'flesh-colored' enamels

Compare, also, a larger pair, lacking the beaker-form vase, illustrated by Howard and Ayers, China for the West, vol. 2, no. 638, and dated by the authors to circa 1820-1850

Previously sold in these rooms, June 1, 1990, lot 313