Lot 301. A 'Dehua' 'European subject', figural group, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

a grimacing lion standing foursquare, supporting two European figures and a pup perched on the back braced by the raised tail, the rectangular rockwork base with two further pups clambering beside a European man presenting a large coin - Height 11 1/2  in., 29.2 cm

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Provenance: Christie's London, 26th July 1976, lot 187.

Exhibited: Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 60.

Note: For a similar example see P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 119A, which Donnelly presents as an example similar to a pair in the Van Cortlandt family collection of New York, inventoried in 1774, and possibly brought to the United States in 1638, ibid. p. 193.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM