A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE CLOISONNE ENAMEL AND GILTWOOD TABLES

A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE CLOISONNE ENAMEL AND GILTWOOD TABLES

THE CLOISONNE 17TH / 18TH CENTURY, THE TABLES FRENCH, 19TH CENTURY

each with a rectangular top with a floral design edge, inset with a Chinese rectangular panel, one depicting a luohan seated on a carpet supported by mythical creatures floating across the sea, the other with another luohan waving to a deity riding on a crane, above a base with scroll legs (2)

64cm high, 32.2cm wide, 36cm deep

Provenance

Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) the Ante-Room to the Lawrence Room, Halton House, Buckinghamshire

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942)

Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)

The Trustees of Exbury House

Literature

Rothschild Archive, London, Manuscript: 000/174/C/3, Christie, Manson & Woods Probate Valuation of 'The Estate of Alfred C. de Rothschild, Esq. C.V.O. Deceased, Halton House Tring'. 1918. Listed as 'Seven plaques of Chinese cloisonne enamel, variously decorated and mounted as the tops of gilt tables, £35.0.0.'

Charles Davis, A Description of the Works of Art Forming the Collection of Alfred de Rothschild, 1884, p.236, no.266, listed as 'A pair of small tables of carved and gilt wood, each with three legs, the tops are inlaid with a square turquoise plaque of Chinese cloisonne enamel.'

Catalogue Note

In Buddhism, the 'arhats', or 'luohan' in Chinese Buddhism, are seen as the original followers of Gautama Buddha, or arhat. They have reached the state of Nirvana, they are now free of all worldly cravings and their role is to protect Buddhism until the arrival of Maitreya, an enlightened Buddha predicted to appear on Earth many centuries in the future. In the earliest Indian depictions only four disciples were shown but over time this number rose to sixteen and by the Tang or Five Dynasty periods in China there were eighteen, a tradition that continues into modern Chinese Buddhism. The symbolism of the two plaques included in this lot show a luohan welcoming the Mother of the West and the other shows four demons carrying a luohan over the Bitter Sea.