Bidspirit auction | Famille Rose Duck & Lotus

Famille Rose Duck & Lotus Water Dropper - Chinese export famille rose porcelain Mandarin duck water dropper, Jiaqing ca. 1800. Modeled on a waterlily pad with a lotus bloom at his side. A lotus leaf stalk emerges from beneath the duck with the leaf forming the basin at its side attached to the duck's breast. Provenance: Douglas Lorie Inc., Palm Beach, 2 April 1996; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Reference: William R. Sargent, ”The Copeland Collection, ” pg. 36-37, no. 7. Lot Essay: This water dropper was likely a wedding gift as the Mandarin duck symbolizes marital bliss as the waterfowl mate for life. The lotus flower (hehua or lianhua) symbolizes marriage with 'he' being a pun for 'harmony' and 'lian' being a pun for 'continuous.' When the duck and lotus are combined, it expresses the desire that the marriage will be blessed with sons. The emergence of water droppers in the form of fowl can be traced to as early as the Song Dynasty. Height: 3 3/4 in x width: 5 1/4 in x depth: 3 1/4 in. Condition: There are restorations to the cup of the lily pad, to the end of the lily pad's stem along the right side of the bird, to the petals along the lotus flower, and to the high point of the bird's tuft. Along the lily pad's stem, there is a chip that has been painted over and a possible loss along the end of the stem, which has also been painted over. There is a hairline crack along the rim of the lily pad. There are small chips along the extreme edges of the lily pad below the bird and to the lily pad near the bird's neck. There are a few small rounded and linear firing flaws. Wear to the gilt and glaze, including small losses. There is crazing to the glaze. There is uneveness to the glaze along the underside.