A BOXWOOD FIGURAL GROUP, QING DYNASTY, LATE 18TH CENTURY

depicting the Hehe Erxian (the twins), both smiling, each one standing in flowing robes wearing a headdress, one holding a box containing a tortoise, the other seated holding a gourd, lovely honey-brown patina, supported on a naturalistic hardwood stand,

20.5 cm high

*The laughing twins represent harmony and mirth as well as bestowing blessing on marriages. The word “he” is the homonym for ‘union’, while “erxian” means ‘the two holy ones’. They actually represent the two famous poet-monks of the Tang Dynasty, Hanshan and Shide.

REFERENCE:

Christies NY, Auspicious Treasures, 22/3/2012, lot 1288 for a single boxwood figure of carved in a similar manner

PROVENANCE:

from A Private Australian Collection, Consolidated Auctions, Sydney, 1979

清 十八世紀晚期 黃楊木雕和合二仙

源流：

澳洲私人收藏，1979年於悉尼拍賣行競得