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Lot Essay
Figures of monkeys were imported into Great Britain early in the 18th Century and many references can be found in British shipping records to various sizes of monkey figures from circa 1704 onwards. They were frequently depicted holding a peach, a symbol of longevity.
For a slightly smaller, but very similar monkey, see the example from the collection of Lady Ward which was included in the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-6, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Catalogue, no. 1866. A pair of smaller pale green-glazed seated monkeys holding peaches from the H. von Klemperer collection, was included in the 1929 Berlin Exhibition, Chinesischer Kunst, Catalogue, no. 1006. Another similar monkey was sold in these Rooms, 9 May 1994, lot 35.
Monkeys in Chinese porcelain are also found with their young on their back, and the young is often depicted holding a peach. A pair of such groups is illustrated by W. R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, 1991, no. 81, pp. 174 and 175; another group, sold in these Rooms, The China Trade Sale, 7 April 1997, lot 99.
For a slightly smaller, but very similar monkey, see the example from the collection of Lady Ward which was included in the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-6, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Catalogue, no. 1866. A pair of smaller pale green-glazed seated monkeys holding peaches from the H. von Klemperer collection, was included in the 1929 Berlin Exhibition, Chinesischer Kunst, Catalogue, no. 1006. Another similar monkey was sold in these Rooms, 9 May 1994, lot 35.
Monkeys in Chinese porcelain are also found with their young on their back, and the young is often depicted holding a peach. A pair of such groups is illustrated by W. R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, 1991, no. 81, pp. 174 and 175; another group, sold in these Rooms, The China Trade Sale, 7 April 1997, lot 99.