A pair of famille verte figures of recumbent boys

Kangxi period, 1662–1722
China

thermoluminescence test sample nos
p205j25 and p205j24 confirm this dating

length: 23 cm

The figures lie back supported by drum shaped pillows – each with the left knee bent up and the right arm tucked behind the head. One figure holds a piped musical instrument in the left hand, while the other holds a lotus stem – the leaf billowing out, above the body, in the form of a headrest. The boys’ shaven heads retain a tear shaped tuft of hair above each forehead, and their faces bear half smiles – the white glaze enlivened by the red of their lips. They wear brightly enamelled yellow coats decorated with clouds and iron red phoenix medallions – the baggy trousers with prunus branches on a white ground.

These models are unrecorded but carry all the characteristics that one associates with famille verte porcelain figures.

similar example
‘Mounted Oriental Porcelain’, The J Paul Getty Museum, California, 1982 – colour plate 7. This group contains a standing boy very much in the style of the recumbent figures – both in dress and decoration.