A pair of Canton enamel and Ivory European tribute Figures

China, Qianlong Period ( 1736-1795) circa 1740

These figures are of outstanding historical and artistic importance. Depicting European gentlemen in a deferential kneeling pose and incorporating carved ivory elements, they belong to an exceptionally small group of export or court related sculptures in which European subjects are rendered with such ambition and specificity. Comparable examples are virtually unknown, and the combination of enamelled copper bodies with ivory heads and hands appears to be unique.

On stylistic grounds they date to the early Qianlong period. It has been suggested that they were made for a monastic setting, based on the carefully cut and curled hair, reminiscent of a religious order. Yet the iconography more persuasively points to a courtly context. Shown offering sumptuous gifts, these figures are best understood as luxurious tribute works produced in Canton for the Qing imperial court, possibly intended as furnishings for the halls of the Summer Palace. Enamels and other objects installed in Western style interiors at Yuanmingyuan functioned as instruments through which the emperor could visualise the outside world within an imperial frame, with foreign peoples represented in respectful submission. In contrast to the realities of diplomacy, in which European envoys negotiated as equals and at times refused the kowtow, these sculptures stage a controlled and idealised image of obeisance, with two wealthy foreigners, likely British or Dutch, presenting their offerings before the throne.

The closest comparable pieces are the set of eight carved and painted wood figures with ivory heads and hands formerly in the collection of H.M. Queen Mary, consort of King George V, exhibited at the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy in 1935 to 1936. Though the bodies are of painted wood, they incorporate enamelled copper attributes and ivory heads and hands and represent Westerners, placing them among the few related survivals. Six of the eight were later in the collection of Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh and are illustrated in David Howard and John Ayers, China for the West, vol. 2 (London and New York, 1978), pp. 663 to 665, nos. 688 and 688a, b and c. Howard and Ayers proposed that those figures were made for the Chinese court, either to furnish palatial settings such as the Summer Palace or possibly as diplomatic gifts, a conclusion that offers a useful parallel for the present pair.

The unusual realism with which European dress is rendered, including buttoned pockets and buckled shoes, would have appealed to a Chinese audience, while also suggesting access to a Western model or advisor in their conception. Additional points of comparison include a possible pair of ivory and enamel figures, one formerly with Spink and Son and the other in the Ionides Collection. Related imagery of kneeling foreigners presenting offerings is also preserved in court enamels, including a cloisonné figure in the Palace Museum, Beijing, depicted holding a vessel forming a lamp stand, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Metal bodied Enamel Ware (Hong Kong, 2002), pl. 

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This lot contains ivory, and is offered as being registered as ‘exempt’ in the UK in accordance with the UK Ivory Act.