- 239
RARE PAINTED AND MOLDED PLASTER CHINA TRADE FIGURE OF A EUROPEAN , AFTER AMOY CHINQUA, CIRCA 1800
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description
- Inscribed Amoy Chinqua 1716 (or 19) on front of plinth
- pine
- Height 14 in.
Inscribed Amoy Chinqua 1719, in a George IV mahogany and glazed case.
Provenance
The Herrel Thomas and J. Stuart Halladay Collection, Sheffield, Massachusetts;
Mrs. Albert N. Petterson (sister of Thomas);
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia;
Christie's, New York, January 25, 2011, lot 232.
Mrs. Albert N. Petterson (sister of Thomas);
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia;
Christie's, New York, January 25, 2011, lot 232.
Condition
Structurally sound. The paint is in good condition. The inscription on front of base is faded.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
This painted plasterwork figure is after a very similar portrait figure signed and dated 1720 that was exhibited and published in A Tale of Three Cities: Canton, Shanghai and Hong Kong, London 1997 (p. 146). The sitter, D.S. Howard writes, is so far unidentified, but the figure has a history of ownership in the same English house since the 18th century, likely since it was commissioned by a China trader on one of the six British ships at Canton during the 1719-20 season.
The present figure is very like another in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts and illustrated by C. Crossman (The Decorative Arts of The China Trade, p. 307); a third is reported to be in a private Scandinavian collection. It is hard to conceive of a commercial purpose to this small group of copies of the 1720 figure. Perhaps grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the original sitter commissioned them, so that various branches of the family could display a revered ancestor - likely one who greatly enhanced the family coffers.
Portraits of this type were rare in the original period, and the fragile nature of both plasterwork and unfired clay has certainly further diminished the supply. But the tradition has been well-established. Amoy Chinqua was the earliest reigning artist of the type, as demonstrated by a large figure of Joseph Collett (1673-1725), signed as the present lot and now in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery, London. Later in the century an artist known as Chitqua even traveled to London, where he spent 1769 to 1771 sculpting very fine portraits of various notables, possibly even the King and Queen. And the tradition culminated in the very large figures brought to America by Edward Carrington of Rhode Island and Benjamin Hodges of the East India Marine Society (see Crossman, op. cit., pp. 319-21).
For further amplification see the catalogue note for a similarly-sized figure of a European gentleman attributed to Amoy Chinqua, circa 1730-60, and sold Christie's, London, 7 April 1997, lot 135.
The present figure is very like another in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts and illustrated by C. Crossman (The Decorative Arts of The China Trade, p. 307); a third is reported to be in a private Scandinavian collection. It is hard to conceive of a commercial purpose to this small group of copies of the 1720 figure. Perhaps grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the original sitter commissioned them, so that various branches of the family could display a revered ancestor - likely one who greatly enhanced the family coffers.
Portraits of this type were rare in the original period, and the fragile nature of both plasterwork and unfired clay has certainly further diminished the supply. But the tradition has been well-established. Amoy Chinqua was the earliest reigning artist of the type, as demonstrated by a large figure of Joseph Collett (1673-1725), signed as the present lot and now in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery, London. Later in the century an artist known as Chitqua even traveled to London, where he spent 1769 to 1771 sculpting very fine portraits of various notables, possibly even the King and Queen. And the tradition culminated in the very large figures brought to America by Edward Carrington of Rhode Island and Benjamin Hodges of the East India Marine Society (see Crossman, op. cit., pp. 319-21).
For further amplification see the catalogue note for a similarly-sized figure of a European gentleman attributed to Amoy Chinqua, circa 1730-60, and sold Christie's, London, 7 April 1997, lot 135.