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Ɏ AN IVORY FIGURE OF A MEDICINE DOLL, LATE QING DYNASTY China, 19th century. Finely carved as a nude female figure reclining in a recumbent pose, the body elongated and elegantly proportioned. Her feminine attributes modestly concealed by her right hand, while the left delicately supports her head, leaving the breasts exposed. The figure further embellished with bangles at the wrists and diminutive low-heeled shoes. Her face rendered with refined features, and her hair drawn back into an elaborate topknot. Provenance: From The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012. Condition: Very good condition with surface wear and natural imperfections, including dark-colored fissures. The ivory surface with an attractive, naturally developed, honey-amber patina and an unctuous feel overall. Weight: 292.3 g (incl. stand) Dimensions: Length 23 cm (incl. stand) With the original mahogany-red lacquered stand. (2) Little models of naked or semi-naked reclining women have in the past been known as 'medicine ladies' or 'doctor's models', following an account of them written by the British Naturalist Arthur de Carle Sowerby in 1936: ‘To overcome the difficulties that such reticence naturally placed in the way of physicians called to diagnose and treat sick ladies, the former had the ivory carvers make them small figures of nude women in repose showing in intimate detail every organ. One of these figures would be taken to the bedside of the patient, who would put her hand through the folds of the curtains that hid her from the physician’s view and touch the exact spot on the figure that was causing her trouble. The physician would then feel the pulse of his patient, ask a few innocuous questions, make his diagnosis and give her a prescription. Some of these little ivory figurines are extremely beautiful, but they are not easy to come by, since native dealers display considerable reticence in showing them to customers’. Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Chinese tinted, colored, and lacquered carved ivory in the Frank Lewis Hough Collection, in China Journal, September 1936, p. 130. This explanation has long been regarded as doubtful, since apart from its diagnostic absurdity, given the minute size and awkward articulation of the carvings, there seems to be no mention of any such species of object in texts on medicine, and they are now believed to have had a more erotic intention. These figurines provide an exceptional illustration of the process by which foreign prototypes were appropriated, sinicised, and adapted for the domestic market from the European artistic tradition that gradually reached China from the late Ming dynasty onward and was closely observed by Chinese craftsmen. It is therefore highly plausible that the nudity and distinctive pose of these female figures were ultimately derived from European ivory representations of the Infant Jesus, particularly the reclining or sleeping types believed to have been imported into the Philippines from Goa during this period. To Chinese eyes, this image of the Christ Child, sacred within Christian visual culture, would likely have appeared as no more than a robust male child. It is possible that Chinese artisans did not even recognise the figure as an infant, since, unlike Chinese children, whose heads were traditionally shaved, representations of Christ and Saint John commonly featured a full head of hair. Moreover, the chubby, nude body characteristic of European depictions of angels and holy infants belonged to a visual tradition unknown in China. However strange these figures may initially have appeared, Chinese craftsmen rapidly adapted these ‘little men’ to suit local tastes, preserving the pose while altering the gender. For a more extended discussion of the adaptation of European ivory models by Chinese artisans during the Qing dynasty and their transformation for the domestic market, see Chinese Ivories: From the Shang to the Qing, 1984, p. 41-43. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related erotic female image, Ming dynasty, c. 1580-1644, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, British Museum, 24 May to 19 August 1984, p. 42, fig. 6 and 7. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 September 2005, lot 53 Price: USD 6,000 or approx. EUR 8,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A small ivory figure of a ‘doctor's lady’, late Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose of the reclining lady and the fine, naturally developed honey-amber patina of the ivory. Note the smaller size (13 cm) and the earlier dating. Trade Certificate: In accordance with new EU regulations that went into effect in January 2022, we have applied for a certificate to sell this item within the EU. We expect the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology to issue the certificate in 2-3 weeks. The item can only be shipped / handed over once the certificate has been issued. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.

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Ivory