RARE DEHUA EQUESTRIAN GROUP, KANGXI PERIOD

RARE DEHUA EQUESTRIAN GROUP, KANGXI PERIOD the strangely-proportioned characterful horse standing upright with its head turned to the right, a man and woman riding on its back and a groom beside, traces of European black and red pigments, 28cm high Provenance: Woolley & Wallis, 18th November 2010, lot 616. Note: this figure group is striking in its characterful rendering of the horse and figures. It may well have been inspired by earlier Qingbai examples which exhibit the same spirit of modelling. For instance, see a Yuan Dynasty Qingbai horse and groom from the Feng Wen Tang Collection sold by Bonhams Hong Kong, 9th October 2014, lot 233. For related Dehua groups see Donnelly, P.J., Blanc de Chine, London 1969, p.116; and an identical model from Burghley House illustrated in Tharp, L., Hogarth's China, London 1997, pg.72. Also, Marchant London exhibited a pair of similar figures in their 1994 Blanc-de-Chine exhibition, no.21.