Chinese Man Kowtow
Chinese Man Kowtow
Item
02.840
Designer
Category
Collection
Material
Ivory Glazed Porcelain; Ivory Glazed Porcelain
It may sound odd, but precisely because of his humble position, the Chinese Man Kowtowing enjoys particularly high regard. As the man’s face is buried deep in the pagoda sleeves of his robe, Franz Anton Bustelli had little opportunity to add character to the man, who has spontaneously sunk to the ground. The court sculptor skillfully made use of the rows of strongly defined folds in the figure’s robe as a means of structuring the work, shown to particular advantage in the unpainted version. The complete shape of the body can be seen through the robe. This makes the figurine unique in the field of porcelain sculpture to this day.