A RARE AND MASSIVE PAIR OF CLOISONNE ATTENDANTS LATE QING DYNASTY

each standing figure similarly depicted with hands raised overhead supporting a large circular tray, all raised on a tall octagonal waisted stand inserted with twelve evenly spaced stanchions connected by loose-ring chains, the figures with gilt faces, necks and chests, each attired in loose garments with foliate roundels against a white or yellow ground and turquoise borders, the tray interiors with central medallions of confronting phoenix and striding dragons on the sides, the exterior with stylized lotus, repeated on the stands with large central polychrome classic lotus on a white ground (4)

Private Collection, Austin, Texas.
Collection of C.T. Howell.

Cloisonné figures of this size are unusual and most likely intended for a room of grand and large dimension.  A smaller pair of closely related figures was sold in our London rooms, 9th November 2011, lot 409.

The form and large size of the present pair is consistent with the grand taste of the Empress Dowager Cixi. She ordered the partial reconstruction and restoration and new buildings for the summer palace in 1860 and it was known to be her favorite residence. Several photos of the Empress Dowager show her flanked by large pyramids of towering fruit atop circular trays and it is possible that this pair were used for a similar purpose. Examples of some of these photos are in the Freer and Sackler archives in Washington,  DC which hold forty-four photo-negative portraits of Cixi.