A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT STAG'S HEAD WALL ORNAMENTS

EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT STAG'S HEAD WALL ORNAMENTS
Early 19th century
The young bucks modelled turned slightly towards each other, their ears held up in alert pose and their detachable antlers with three short branches, fur markings in underglaze blue and a collar of moulded oak leaves on their shield-form plaques
15in. (39.4cm.) high (2)

Provenance

Anon. sale, Sotheby's New York, 19-20 May 1972, lot 293

Lot Essay

This very rare model represents a fascinating confluence of the European hunting trophy tradition and the Chinese reverence of deer as sacred. In China spotted deer in particular are associated with both longevity and wealth, and are typically depicted alongside the sacred fungus, which only they are able to root out. See W. Sargent, The Copeland Collection, p. 158, for a standing spotted deer, a promised bequest to The Peabody Museum of Salem