REF No. 6103
sold - pair of chinese export porcelain nodding head figures
Qianlong, circa 1790
European Market
Height: 15 ¾ inches (40cm)
A fine pair of nodding head court ladies, with elegant blue coats, one holding a ruyi sceptre moulded as lingzhi fungi in one hand and both holding iron-red handkerchieves in the other, each with hair up in elaborate designs.
The lingzhi-ruyi, derived from the bracket fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) that grows on tree roots, here represents ‘wish granting’ as well as immortality, suggesting that these maidens are here to grant your every wish. A close inspection of the figure without a sceptre shows no signs of loss and indicates that this is an intended feature.
These are a later version of a very rare type that is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (FE.18-1978) and two other pairs known in private American collections.
