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380.
CHINESE LADY
PORCELAIN DECORATED IN
FAMILLE ROSE
ENAMELS AND
GOLD
QING DYNASTY (1644–1911), CA. 1730–1740
HEIGHT 106 CM; BASE 34 X 32.5 CM
INV. NO. 432
An imposing figure of a Chinese lady,
standing with one foot forward, as if moving.
Her removable head has finely modelled
features, with the eyes and brows detailed
in black and the lips in red. Her long ears are
pierced for earrings, and she has a pleasant
expression and a high, elaborate hairstyle
consisting of a double bun in two clusters
held in place by five hairpins, now missing.
Her arms, set at waist-level, are fitted with
removable hands to hold something that is
also missing. The figure is set on a fine, low
base. The head has a pendulum to keep it in
place on the neck. The figure was moulded
and modelled in white porcelain in three
parts, the head and hands with a white glaze,
and the coiffure finely sculpted to resemble
hairs, enamelled in black.
The elaborate clothing was richly enamelled
in the
famille rose
palette: pink, white,
turquoise, green, yellow, iron red and black,
with gold details, and consists of two dresses
and a short skirt. One of the dresses is very
long and only the toe of a shoe shows. It has
stripes in the colours of range of the
famille
rose
enamels, the wider iron red stripe
decorated with a lace-like gilt floral scroll in
a medallion. It is trimmed round the hem
with a brown band with a gilt lotus-flower
scroll, outlined in turquoise. The shorter
dress is pink with a ‘cracked ice’ and
scattered flower pattern, the hem with a
band similar to the previous long dress. It has
two openings at the sides revealing a
turquoise lining and a piece of iron red cloth.
The overskirt is light green patterned with
darker green scrolls and red bats flying
among multicoloured clouds. It is trimmed
with an iron red band with gilt lotus scrolls.
A white belt is tied at the waist with a long-
tailed black bow. Her shoulders are covered
by a yellow cape or cloud collar patterned
with scattered flowers, with an upright
collar, scalloped at the edge, fastened with
a button, a leaf necklace around the neck and
a gilt metal neckband with a row of pearls.
Due to their size, these very large figures
were usually made in plaster. Figures with
nodding heads were already exported to
Europe by the mid eighteenth century,
334 .
HUMAN AND ANIMAL FIGURES