Lot 100
100
A LOUIS XV CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN-MOUNTED ORMOLU WATCH-STAND

Details
A LOUIS XV CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN-MOUNTED ORMOLU WATCH-STAND
MID-18TH CENTURY

Of pagoda form, the top canopy surmounted by a finial and hung with bells above a porcelain figure of Guanyin seated on a dais and surrounded by a pierced gallery hung with bells supported by columns above a blue-glazed figure of the God of Luck on cabriole legs, the descending staircase concealing a drawer and flanked by blanc-de-chine attendants (lacking one attendant)--17in. (43cm.) high
Provenance
Sotheby's Monaco, 4 March 1989, lot 206

Lot Essay

This elaborate pagoda-form watch stand typifies the revived taste for Chinoiserie during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Prince of Wales (later George IV) of England was a particularly enthusiastic promoter of this fashion and along with the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre, the Regent created the 'Chinese Room' at his London residence, Carlton House, in 1787-1790. A related French clock with pagoda canopy and palm-tree supports formed part of a suite of ornaments made expressly for that room (illustrated in Carlton House; The Past Glories of George IV's Palace, The Queen's Gallery, 1991, no. 56). A related watch stand was sold in these Rooms, 26 April 1994, lot 157.