Antique Chinese Export Porcelain Monkey, Likely Qing Dynasty W/ Paperwork

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Please note the paperwork in photographs. Previously sold by Morland House who claimed Chien Lung Period Circa 1780. We belive … Read more Please note the paperwork in photographs. Previously sold by Morland House who claimed Chien Lung Period Circa 1780. We belive this is later.

Chinese Export Porcelain Figural Monkey, likely late Qing Dynasty to early Republic period, late 19th to early 20th century. Modeled as a seated monkey cradling a large red fruit—likely a symbolic peach—this porcelain figure is delicately hand-painted in iron-red, brown, and black enamels, with cream and white highlights to the facial and extremity details. The expressive modeling, with a broad snout, furrowed brows, and articulated limbs, evokes both charm and character, while the incised lines along the body simulate the texture of fur in a stylized manner.

The fruit in the monkey’s arms likely represents longevity and immortality, a common theme in Chinese decorative arts, particularly when paired with simian imagery. In Daoist folklore, monkeys are often shown stealing the peaches of immortality from the garden of the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu. This association imbues the figure with auspicious meaning, appropriate for the scholar’s desk or as a decorative figural object in an elite domestic setting.

The unmarked base and the soft porcelain paste are consistent with export wares made for the Western market, possibly from the kilns of Guangdong province or Jingdezhen during the transitional period between imperial rule and early republican reform. With its blend of playful naturalism and symbolic narrative, the figure reflects the enduring appeal of zoomorphic forms in Qing and early 20th-century Chinese porcelain. Measures approximately 4 inches high, 4 inches deep, and 3.25 inches wide. See less