Chinese porcelain late-Ming blanc de Chine joss-stick holders in the form of two dogs
1332
A fine and rare pair of Chinese porcelain late-Ming blanc de Chine joss-stick holders in the form of two dogs of Fo seated on tall rectangular bases, each with a foot on a reticulated prunus-blossom ball and the female with a baby on its hind paws between her forelegs; each wears a tasseled and belled collar and holds in their mouth a ribbon that descends to the ball, the rich unctuous glaze with a slightly creamy tone
34cm high
Circa 1640
(each with one eyebrow chipped, minor tail damage and the joss holder slightly reduced)
*From the Freedman personal collection
*From a private Spanish collection
*This pair is very rare in having the baby; almost always it is absent. In addition it is very unusual to be able to say with confidence that these two started life as a pair since in almost every detail down to the most minor, including size, glaze colour and quality of glaze and even chin markings, they correspond. (Perhaps the only difference is that the female does not show her tongue)
*From the Freedman personal collection*From a private Spanish collection*This pair is very rare in having the baby; almost always it is absent. In addition it is very unusual to be able to say with confidence that these two started life as a pair since in almost every detail down to the most minor, including size, glaze colour and quality of glaze and even chin markings, they correspond. (Perhaps the only difference is that the female does not show her tongue)){kind=link}
