.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
Like so much of the mania for all things Chinese in 18th century Europe, these wonderfully 'exotic' figures depict a Northern European gentleman and lady in all but name. Many of the early Chinoiserie figures were based on the engravings of Jean Nieuhof - who accompanied the expedition of Pierre van Goyer and Jakob van Keyser to the court of the Emperor of China in 1656. And until the end of the 18th century, his prints remained the most influential sources for Europeans trying to imitate or re-create Chinese life and lifestyles.
From Sussex to St. Petersburg the excitement, or mania even, about the East permeated all areas of the decorative arts and architecture. And like so much of the interior design and decorative arts in the 18th century, much of it originated in Paris and spread to the royal and princely courts throughout Europe. Some of the earliest and most sophisticated Chinoiserie figures show up in the delicately painted boiserie panels of Watteau, Huet and Pillement. And these elegant figures soon found their way onto tapestries such as the first series by Beauvais of the Emperor of China, the paintings and prints of Boucher and innumerable other areas of the decorative arts such as silk weavings, porcelain and even ormolu furniture mounts.
It appears the present terracottas are simply an amalgam of exotic elements. And so while there are many comparable Chinoiserie figures, the man is particularly close to a German faience figure of a 'Malabar' from the Pflueger Collection and now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see H. Morley-Fletcher, Early European Porcelain & Faience: as collected by Kiyi and Edward Pflueger, vol. II, London, pp. 170 - 171). Perhaps both of the figures are based on a still unidentified source, or it may be simply a coincidence that they are so similar. However, the posture, identical hat, flowing, fur-lined cape, prominent sword and other details certainly link the figures.
It was also a typically Western conceit that the figures would represent War and Peace, or perhaps Abundance. This is further emphasized by the relief plaques on their bases, each representing, respectively, trophies of arms and armor and fruitful landscapes.
From Sussex to St. Petersburg the excitement, or mania even, about the East permeated all areas of the decorative arts and architecture. And like so much of the interior design and decorative arts in the 18th century, much of it originated in Paris and spread to the royal and princely courts throughout Europe. Some of the earliest and most sophisticated Chinoiserie figures show up in the delicately painted boiserie panels of Watteau, Huet and Pillement. And these elegant figures soon found their way onto tapestries such as the first series by Beauvais of the Emperor of China, the paintings and prints of Boucher and innumerable other areas of the decorative arts such as silk weavings, porcelain and even ormolu furniture mounts.
It appears the present terracottas are simply an amalgam of exotic elements. And so while there are many comparable Chinoiserie figures, the man is particularly close to a German faience figure of a 'Malabar' from the Pflueger Collection and now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see H. Morley-Fletcher, Early European Porcelain & Faience: as collected by Kiyi and Edward Pflueger, vol. II, London, pp. 170 - 171). Perhaps both of the figures are based on a still unidentified source, or it may be simply a coincidence that they are so similar. However, the posture, identical hat, flowing, fur-lined cape, prominent sword and other details certainly link the figures.
It was also a typically Western conceit that the figures would represent War and Peace, or perhaps Abundance. This is further emphasized by the relief plaques on their bases, each representing, respectively, trophies of arms and armor and fruitful landscapes.