A FAMILLE ROSE GOOSE TUREEN AND A COVER

QIANLONG PERIOD

Details

A FAMILLE ROSE GOOSE TUREEN AND A COVER
Qianlong period
Naturalistically modelled as a swimming goose with his webbed feet tucked beneath him, his long neck slightly curved to form a handle for the tureen cover, his head turned slightly to the side and his black eyes with alert expression, wings picked out in colorful enamels and folded across his back, his other plumage in sepia with a stippled rose crown on his head
15.1/8in. (38.4cm.) high

Lot Essay

Dining in wealthy households of the 18th century was a ceremonious business, with formal arrangements of foodstuffs piled high on sideboards and impressive centerpieces created for the amusement of diners. C. Hartop describes "...elaborate pies made in the form of ships which would perform a naval engagement at the table, complete with gunpowder charges...." (The Huguenot Legacy, pp.25-6). Faience makers led the way in the 1740's and 50's with colorful animal-form tureens, and China traders soon followed. W.S. Sargent (op. cit., p. 202) reports that V.O.C. ordered 25 goose tureens in 1763 and nine more in 1764, while another order of 30 fell through because the supercargoes considered them too risky. Certainly these very large vessels, though wildly impractical, made a sumptuous display on the 18th century table.

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