A FINE AND RARE EXPORT FIGURE OF A DUTCH LADY QING DYNASTY, CIRCA 1735-45

modelled standing with her hands at her sides, wearing a blue shoulder cape with turquoise ruff over a green, yellow and black boddice, with full length turquiose sleeves and apron and a puce skirt, her face with rosy cheeks and a gentle smile framed by a winged lace cap

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Y. Mottahedeh.
Sotheby's New York, 30th January 1985, lot 352.

DeCordova Museum, 1979.
Virginia Museum, 1981-82.
China Institute in America, 1984.

David Howard and John Ayers, China for the West, London, 1978, pl. 641.

This rare figure has restoration to the area of the cloak that is swept back above the left arm and also to the larger fold below this. There is a chip (1.5cm by 3mm) to the cap over the part that covers the right ear. There is fritting to the area above this and to the same point on the other side of the head. There is a 10mm by 5mm flake to the pink enamel to the robe to the lower right side of the figure. There is a minor loss (4mm by 2mm) of green enamel to the lower centre front of the robe between the feet. There is a minor loss of iron-red enamel to the end of the shoes and areas of rubbing to the line of gilding at the base of the robe. There is some minute black pitting to the glaze to the cap and ruff and there is some bubbling/larger pitting to the glaze on the sleeves. There is some loss of black enamel to the cloud scrolls on the turquoise apron and some scratching and minor loss to the glaze.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present figure is one of the finest examples of famille rose figures made for the export market in China during the 18th century. It is often referred to as 'Lady Duf', with 'Duf' being the Chinese phonetic shortening of the name Durven. Diederick Durven was a lawyer practicing in Delft, Holland, when in 1705 he was appointed to be the Council of Justice in Batavia. Sailing to the Dutch East Indies in 1706 with his wife, Anna Catharina de Roo, he remained with the Dutch East India Company in Batavia until the end of his appointment as Governor from 1729 to 1732. In 1740, Durven died at home in Delft, his widow Anna dying a year later in 1741, leaving one child. Howard and Ayers, ibid., p. 613, suggest that the subject of this figure is 'presumably drawn from European prints'.

A pair of figures representing Governor and Lady Duf is published in Michel Beurdeley, Porcelain of the East India Companies, London, 1962, p. 91, colour pl. XVIII. See a closely related figure of Lady Duf illustrated in Anthony du Boulay, Chinese Porcelain, London, 1973, p. 82, pl. 115; one from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, included in the exhibition China und Europe, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, 1973, cat. no. 735;  another from the Birtish Museum, London, included in the exhibition Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from the British Museum London, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1994, cat. no. 81; and one from the collection of John T. Dorrance Jr., was sold in our Monte Carlo rooms, 9th February 1981, lot 994, again in our New York rooms, 20th October 1989, lot 373, and again in these rooms, 8th November 1994, lot 284.

For further examples of famille rose figures of Westerners made in the same period see a group of a Dutchman and lady, from the Mottahedeh collection, sold in our New York rooms, 19th October 2000, pl. 409, similarly inspired by European print; and a figure of a Duth merchant, from the collection of Lord Torrington, First Commissioner of Admiralty, sold at Christie's London, 7th July 1986, lot 239.