Lot Essay
Although other examples of this model are recorded compared to the standing figures very few are known. The two in the Victoria and Albert Museum, from the Collection of Sir Harry Garner, were exhibited in the O.C.S. Exhibition, "Porcelain for Palaces", No. 166, and one published in the O.C.S. Exhibition catalogue, 1956, No. 272, again illustrated Soame Jenyn's, pl. 63G.
A further example is in the China Pavilion at the Swedish Royal Palace of Drottringholm, illustrated The Chinese Pavilion, Ake Setterwall, p. 174.
The model displays the early Edo change in the use of armrests (soku), which was originally a rich man's prerogative used only by the members of the Imperial Court and feudal lords. During the Edo period (1614-1868), it came into widespread use in the entertainment quarters and among the newly rich middle-class merchants.
A further example is in the China Pavilion at the Swedish Royal Palace of Drottringholm, illustrated The Chinese Pavilion, Ake Setterwall, p. 174.
The model displays the early Edo change in the use of armrests (soku), which was originally a rich man's prerogative used only by the members of the Imperial Court and feudal lords. During the Edo period (1614-1868), it came into widespread use in the entertainment quarters and among the newly rich middle-class merchants.