Pair of English Chinoiserie Polychrome Nodding Head Figures, or Nodders
A pair of English chinoiserie nodding head figures, or nodders, depicting a Mandarin and his wife in Chinese court dress. Each figure stands upright on a shaped black base and is modeled with an elongated body, movable head, and hands joined at the front. The surfaces are hand painted in polychrome colors and enriched with raised enamel decoration. The female figure wears a cream colored robe covered with blue cloud forms and repeated green, red, and blue dragons. Her layered skirt is painted in blue and red sections with floral panels, while her tall headdress is decorated with blue, red, and green ornament. The male figure wears a dark robe beneath a broad blue shoulder cape, with a rectangular chest panel painted with a crane above stylized waves. His lower garment is decorated with blue, red, green, and gilt colored borders, and he wears a fitted cap above a long modeled beard. The contrasting costumes identify the pair as companion figures conceived as a Mandarin and his wife.
Both figures are constructed as traditional nodding head figures, with hollow movable heads supported by internal weighted mechanisms that allow the heads to nod when the figures are touched or moved. Their faces are hand painted with defined brows, eyes, lips, and shaded flesh tones. The male figure has a modeled beard extending over the front of his robe, while the female figure has dark hair gathered behind the head beneath her painted headdress. Raised enamel details appear throughout the clothing and ornamental panels, giving physical definition to the dragons, clouds, flowers, borders, and crane decoration. The garments are divided into separate decorative fields, with contrasting colors and repeated Chinese motifs painted across the sleeves, skirts, collars, and chest panels. The modeled folds of the robes, visible shoes, shaped hands, and raised costume details continue around the figures rather than being limited to their front surfaces.
These figures belong to the English chinoiserie tradition of decorative nodders produced for interiors furnished with Chinese and Chinese inspired objects. Nodding head figures became established decorative objects in English country houses, where Chinese porcelain, lacquer, textiles, and related chinoiserie furnishings were displayed together. Earlier examples of Chinese nodding...
Category
Antique Early 1900s English Chinoiserie Ceramics
