QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN LADY AND DEER CANDLEHOLDERS
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
Each group with a maiden, possibly Shoulao, holding a vase forming a candleholder in her arms, wearing an iron-red robe decorated with flowers and enriched with gilt, attended by a spotted deer wearing a double-gourd vase around its neck, a rocky outcrop splashed in blue enamels beside it, on later gilt-metal bases
10 1/4 in. (25 cm.) high

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 9 May 1994, lot 41.
Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Seigel Vice President, Specialist, Head of Private and Iconic Collections

eseigel@christies.com +1 212 484 4812

Lot Essay

Deer (lu) symbolize good fortune in Chinese culture. Spotted deer are often depicted alongside Shoulao, the God of Longevity, and sometimes shown pulling a cart of lingzhi, the fungus of immortality that only deer are believed can find. As seen in the present lot, deer are also depicted carrying a double-gourd to carry Shoulao’s longevity wine which she brews from the fungus.

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