An articulated figure of a boy

Kangxi period, 1662–1722
China

length (stretched out): 35.5 cm
height (seated): 30 cm

The boy is articulated at the knees, hips, elbows and shoulders, and is designed to sit on the contemporary (Kangxi) red lacquered wood armchair. He holds a fruit in his left hand, and his feet are depicted wearing Chinese shoes. His lively eyes look straight ahead – his large head bald, with pendulous ears and a half open mouth, revealing two neat rows of teeth all carved with the greatest subtlety. These details display a similarity to famille verte ‘biscuit’ porcelain figures of the Kangxi period. Beneath his costume, the anatomy is finely modelled – the torso with belly button and private parts portrayed. His clothes are original and consist of a pair of wrap around children’s trousers and a long jacket. This costume is decorated with a gold wire background and an all over design of lotus flowers and scrolling leaves on sky blue silk; the ivory has a darker patina in the areas covered by these clothes.

provenance
Baron De Rede, Hôtel Lambert.

Comparative examples of boys in famille verte porcelain
‘Chinesische Kunst’, Berlin Exhibition catalogue, 1929 – no. 934.

‘Mounted Oriental Porcelain in the J Paul Getty Museum’, California, 1982 – colour plate 7.