A RARE FAMILLE ROSE 'GARDEN OF EDEN' BOWL

QIANLONG

Details

A RARE FAMILLE ROSE 'GARDEN OF EDEN' BOWL
qianlong
Finely enamelled around the exterior with a lively array of animals, mostly paired, including cows, sheep, horses, monkeys, dogs, elephants, deer, a qilin, a lion and other mythical creatures, with a hirsute human-like winged figure, possibly an angel, looking on from behind a rocky outcrop, all among trees and shrubs beside a lake, rim crack and a small enamel area retouched
12 in. (30 cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

The winged figure resembles a European 'wild man' with angelic wings, and may well be the result of the artist having confused the imagery of 'wild man' and 'angel'. The concept of a benign 'wild man' can be seen in a German tapestry in the Burrell Collection, dating to the first quarter of the 15th Century, when it was a popular subject matter; they were believed at the time to inhabit the fields and forests. See The Burrell Collection, 1990, p.103, fig.4.

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