A RARE PAIR OF IMPORTANT AND LARGE CHINESE FAMILLE-VERTE FIGURES OF PHOENIX BIRDS, 18TH / EARLY 19TH CENTURY |

each superbly modeled standing with one powerful claw raised upon lingzhi issuing from a tall rockwork base with small hollowed well, the neck feather shaped and molded falling to long tail-plumes picked out in iron red, blue green, pale yellow, aubergine and giling

Edgar Gorer, London, by 1911
The Patiño Collection, Sotheby's New York, November 1, 1986, lot 3

Edgar Gorer and J. F. Blacker, Chinese Porcelain and Hardstone, Vol. I, London, 1911, pl. 97.
Walter Bondy, Kang-Hsi: Eine Blüte-Epoche der chinesischen Porzellankunst, Munich, 1923, cat. no. 183.

One phoenix with restored breaks and chips to the front half of the rockwork base including a talon, and with associated losses to the overspray, The other with a consolidated firing tear to the raised leg, and evident large losses to a few of the neck feathers. Both with scattered chips and nicks to the extremities, particularly tips of feathers. Overall both with expected wear to the surface, and characteristic firing imperfections including firing tears.Both birds without lingzhi form crest motif as illustrated by Gorer in 1911.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

More often found in famille-rose and generally of smaller size, the present large pair of phoenix birds appear to be the only published examples of this size and palette. Recorded in Gorer and Blacker in 1911, they were described as 'superb specimens (that) reveal the highest skill', and were dated as Kangxi period. Each feather on the neck appears to be separately molded and applied, and the plumage on the back is individually cut to present a dynamism and movement that is unique to this pair of birds.  A similarly modeled pair of peacocks of large size is illustrated in Michael Cohen and William Motley, Mandarin and Menagerie: Chinese and Japanese Export Ceramic Figures. Volume I: The James E. Sowell Collection, Surrey, 2008, pp. 232-233, cat. no. 16.8, where the authors date the pair as circa 1820.