AN IMPORTANT RARE BISCUIT FIGURE OF A YOUNG STAG

LATE KANGXI, THE ANTLERS LATER

细节

AN IMPORTANT RARE BISCUIT FIGURE OF A YOUNG STAG
late kangxi, the antlers later
Finely modelled standing on long slender legs with cloven hooves, the naturalistically-shaped head with an alert expression turned sharply to the right peering over its back, the eyes, nose and mouth outlined with pale grey, white and pink enamels, with a creamy-white enamelled throat and chest, the top of the head with two apertures for the antlers, the body enamelled in a pale golden brown with regularly-spaced pale spots, entirely covered with fur markings picked out in darker brown and following the natural direction of the fur especially at the shoulders, replacement antlers and some restoration
37 in. (94 cm.) high

拍品专文

The word for deer in Chinese is lu, which is synonymous with emolument, thus symbolizing wealth and rank. The spotted deer or meihua lu (prunus blossom deer - a reference to the markings) is the familiar of Shoulao, and can therefore also be considered to symbolize longevity. A deer of this type, painted in a similar pose to the present lot may be seen in the central panel on the famous famille noire dish in the Percival David Foundation (PDF A821), included in Imperial Taste, Exhibition Tour, 1989-90, Catalogue, no.49.

This magnificent figure demonstrates the potter's skill in firing a porcelain figure of such monumental size. Indeed, this figure appears to be the largest animal model known to exist in Chinese porcelain of the 18th Century. Another large biscuit figure of a stag, 22 in. high, similarly modelled but looking directly forwards, is now in the Copeland Collection, illustrated by W.R. Sargent, op.cit., 1991, no.72, p.158, and also illustrated by E. Gordon, op.cit., 1975, p.69; it was formerly in the the collection of The Hon. Mrs. Nellie Ionides, and sold Sotheby & Co., London, 2 July 1963, lot 56 (colour frontispiece). Another model of a stag, in a very similar pose to the present lot, but depicting a more mature beast, of slightly later date and almost half the size (19 in., 50 cm. high), is also in the Copeland Collection, ibid., 1991, colour frontispiece and no.104, pp.216-7; it was originally in the collection of H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester, K.G., and sold in these Rooms 20 May 1954, lot 15, and in the same rooms, 5 October 1970, lot 164; it was also illustrated by A. du Boulay, Chinese Porcelain, 1973, pl.78 and op.cit., 1984, p.296, fig.3.