A pair of large fantastical animals (Luduan) in turquoise-glazed Chinese porcelain, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi, on French Louis XV mounts of chiselled ormolu with rocaille motifs and scrolling feet.
A pair of large fantastical animals (Luduan) in turquoise-glazed Chinese porcelain, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi, on French Louis XV mounts of chiselled ormolu with rocaille motifs and scrolling feet.
China
Biscuit brass Bronze Carved Gilt gilt-bronze Ormolu Polychrome-painted Porcelain
31 x 30 x 19 cm (12 ¹/₄ x 11 ³/₄ x 7 ¹/₂ inches)
Provenance
Accorsi Collection Turin.
Italian private collection
Literature
Kangxi – Yongzheng – Qianlong. Qing porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Peking, 1989, p. 159, tav. 142.
Detail Description
The mythical horned beast sits with its head raised and slightly turned to one side, the wavy tail resting on its side. The modelling is powerful and the facial expression fierce, with protruding eyes, gaping nostrils, and exposed teeth. The mane and tail are finely modelled. Covered in a vibrant turquoise glaze.
The present pair of objects attests to the taste that pervaded Europe around the mid eighteenth century for chinoiserie, a term broadly indicating all that came from the East. In that period, it was fashionable to transform precious Chinese porcelain items in luxury objects with the addition of gilt bronze mounts, as evidenced by the precious ormolu mounts of the present Luduans decorated with rocaille elements typical of the Louis XV production (1745–49).
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