A pair of famille rose porcelain cockerels on rockwork bases

Qianlong period 18th century, Chinese export.

A pair of famille rose porcelain cockerels, each standing on a rockwork base. The birds are brightly enamelled, with red chests, black tail feathers and finely painted neck and wing feathers in shades of green, blue, pink and yellow.

The modelling is lively and naturalistic, with alert expressions and well defined legs, the earthy toned bases providing contrast to the vivid colouring of the figures.

These cockerels exemplify the virtuosity of eighteenth century porcelain modelling, uniting bold colour, careful observation of nature and a distinctly playful elegance characteristic of high quality famille rose wares.

In China, the rooster (gongji) is a ubiquitous motif across both fine and decorative arts. The word ji functions as a homophone, carrying the dual meanings of “rooster” and “good fortune,” which has long endowed the bird with auspicious associations and made it a talisman of luck. Traditionally, five virtues are attributed to the rooster: literary refinement, symbolised by its comb; martial spirit, indicated by its spurs; courage, demonstrated in combat; benevolence, shown as it clucks to the hens while scratching up grain; and faithfulness, for it never fails to announce the hour.

Depictions of a rooster and hen standing amid rockwork in a garden of peonies form a common motif, evoking the pleasures and harmony of rural life. Another popular subject, particularly on Chinese export porcelain, shows a young woman observing a rooster mating with a hen, a playful and lightly humorous variation on the voyeuristic theme. Porcelain figures of this type are notable for their striking forms and vivid colouring. Modeled with great naturalism, they display a remarkable sense of grace and artistic refinement.

Howard and Ayers cite two relevant pictorial sources. One is a Dutch interior painting by Cornelis Troost, dated 1741 and now in the Rijksmuseum, which depicts a figure closely comparable to the Copeland example standing on a table. The other is an eighteenth-century watercolor showing brightly coloured roosters and cranes in a porcelain shop. Documentary evidence further attests to the popularity of such figures in Europe. Lazare Duvaux recorded the sale of pairs of roosters to several prominent clients, including Madame de Pompadour in May 1750, Madame d’Espinay in October 1752, Monsieur d’Azincourt in November 1755, and the Comte de Valentinois in June 1756. Comparable examples include a pair mounted in ormolu now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

An inventory of 1777 lists six pairs of roosters still preserved in the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm, while two further pairs appeared in the 1783 Paris sale of the collection of Monsieur Blondel. The same brightly coloured fowl also feature on mid-eighteenth-century wall coverings produced for the export market, underscoring the enduring appeal of this motif across multiple media.