A very rare cloisonne enamel and gilt-bronze foreigner, China, Kangxi period. Photo Nagel Auktionen
Finely cast, seated on a waisted square pedestal, kneeling on one bended knee with the foot of the other leg flat on the ground, positioned with one muscular arm raised and one hand to the hip, dressed in a sleeveless coat with toggle closures elaborately decorated with dragons above waves and clouds. The figure is depicted with his mouth open in a smile with a thick curly beard - Very minor wear. H. 27,5 cm. Estimate 60 000 - 90 000 €
Property from an old European private collection
A pair of very similar pricket candle holders was sold at Christie's Hongkong 'Masterpieces of the Enameller's Art from the Mandel Collection', 30.5.2012, Lot 3906
Foreigners depicted with large round eyes and noses, thick curly beards and hair have been a popular motif in Chinese art as early as the Tang dynasty (618-906), when the increased presence of foreigners in China brought in new fascination among the Chinese and led to a gradual stylisation of the image of the foreigner in Chinese art.
Compare the present figure with a pair of cloisonne figures of foreigners with similar stance and facial features, dated to the late Ming period, from the Juan Jose Amezaga Collection, sold at Christie's Paris, 7 December 2007, lot 7; and now in the Robert Chang Collection included in the exhibition, Colourful, Elegant, and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr. Robert Chang's Collection, Suzhou, 2009, p. 90-91.
Another comparable pair of cloisonne enamel and gilt-bronze pricket candlesticks in the form of foreign figures, dated to 18th century, was sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 68. Cloisonne enamel figures of foreigners holding up an object are not confined to the form of candlesticks. The two figures are similar to the present figure and are carrying a rectangular censer in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Enamels 2: Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Beijing 2011, pl. 67.
A figure of a foreign tribute bearer holding up a gilt orb and with a similarly designed vest and square base was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 1999, lot 561
Nagel Auktionen. Asian Art, 2013/05/10. http://www.auction.de