AN EXTREMELY RARE PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT FIGURES OF SPANIELS, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, CIRCA 1760 |

each modeled recumbent with heads turned to one side with the eyes slightly looking upwards with a gentle gaze, the large rounded ears draped on both sides, the black and white spotted coat painted en grisaille and white enamels

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, June, 1975

The spaniel with its head turned to its right with restorations to the top of nose, and left hind paw has been off and restored back on, both with associated overpaint. The are chips to three toes of the left front paw with associated overpaint. the right most toe of the right front paw restored, and overall with minute glaze chips to edges of the paws and tail. The spaniel with its head turned to its left with restorations to the tips of the tail. The ends of front paws and left hind leg each with with restored chips. Overall both with minor firing imperfections, including some kiln grit on the underside of the bellies of both, and minor fritting to the edge of the ears.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Figures of Spaniels were described by David Howard in China for the West as 'perhaps the most attractive of all Chinese models of dogs', the present adorable examples are actually the original models of the popular Mottahedeh reproductions from Nelson Rockefeller Collection Inc., and were given the catalogue no. 37 while they were produced and sold (fig. I). Chinese export figures of recumbent spaniels usually appear in a brown or orange coat, such as an associated pair illustrated in William R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, Salem, MA, 1991, cat. no. 90. Further examples are illustrated in Michael Cohen and William Motley, Mandarin and Menagerie: Chinese and Japanese Export Ceramic Figures: Volume I: The James E. Sowell Collection, Reigate, 2008, cat. no. 11.13, and a single example from the Mottahedeh Collection is illustrated in David Howard and John Ayers, China for the West, Vol. II, London, 1974, cat. no. 622. However, the present pair appear to be the only pair published to have the black and white spotted coat. One example sold at Christie's New York, January 28, 2013, lot 510, is decorated in a black and white coat, however the patches of black are much larger and cover most of the head and ears except for the snout.