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Lot Essay
Large animal form tureens were at the height of Chinese Export porcelain production, particularly for the Iberian market, where a a range of armorial examples are known. Geese, ducks, and roosters are all known, as well as quail, pigs, shells and crab. It is believed that these are taken from European faience of a a slightly earlier date.
The rooster (gongji) is an ancient yang symbol associated with the sun chasing away darkness. Its name consists of gong, which in this context means 'male animal' but was also the highest feudal rank, and ji, 'chicken', which is a pun for ji, 'auspicious'. In Chinese art the bird is often associated with depictions of rank or official success.
A similar example and another example with a stand and the arms of Bermudez are part of the Copeland Collection, Peabody Museum of Salem (see W.R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, Peabody Essex Museum, 1991, p. 209).
The rooster (gongji) is an ancient yang symbol associated with the sun chasing away darkness. Its name consists of gong, which in this context means 'male animal' but was also the highest feudal rank, and ji, 'chicken', which is a pun for ji, 'auspicious'. In Chinese art the bird is often associated with depictions of rank or official success.
A similar example and another example with a stand and the arms of Bermudez are part of the Copeland Collection, Peabody Museum of Salem (see W.R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, Peabody Essex Museum, 1991, p. 209).