Finely modelled in the full round, and forming a true pair, right and left; male and female. The male is depicted with his front paw resting upon a brocaded ball; the female, with a cub clambering at her side. Each supports a Gu form incense holder on its back that is decorated with Shou and Fu symbols for long life good fortune. Their faces display wonderful animated expressions, and their heads are finely detailed with multi-colored curls.
Height: 14 ½ inches (37 cm.)
Ex: South American Collection (acquired from our gallery in the 1980s)
Prior- Ex Collection: H.J. Joel, Esq. of Childrick Bury. St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Two almost identical examples with similar colored curls but without the joss stick holders are in the Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon and the Lady Lever Art Gallery, England. Smaller versions with the holders are in the historic collection of Augustus the Strong and another is illustrated in La Porcelaine de Chine by Octave du Sartel, 1881.
