Soapstone figure of an official

A soapstone figure of a standing official, dressed in loosely fitting, layered robes that fall to the ground, with only his shoes protruding. The long sleeve of the robe covers his right hand, while his left hand, which is raised to hold the buckle of his rigid belt, is visible. The face has a smiling expression, exposing the upper teeth, and is finely detailed, showing lidded eyes, a long, wispy beard, a moustache and whiskers, and engraved eyebrows. He wears an official’s peaked hat, the front of which has a raised design of two rampant dragons and a flaming pearl. The robes are covered in engraved designs of dragons amongst clouds, which show remains of gilding. The main part of the body is carved from mustard-yellow soapstone, whereas a cream-coloured stone is used for the head and the exposed left hand. Some traces of pigment are visible, particularly on the inside of the sleeves and on the belt.

•  This fine soapstone figure, presumably depicting a Court official, is unusual in its lively pose and beautifully detailed engraved designs on the clothes. From a number of European inventoried collections, particularly those held at the Herzog Anton Ulrich museum in Braunschweig, Germany, we know that soapstone figures of this type were in western collections by the second half of the 17th century.1 It is interesting to note that both the figure’s head and his inset left hand are of a different colour soapstone. This is partly because of the unusually large size of the figure, and partly to provide a striking contrast with the yellow stone used for the body. The quality of the carving on the hand would indicate that the inset is contemporary with the piece and not a later replacement.

1 For a number of similar figures, each inventoried in the second half of the 17th century, see: Ströber, E. Ostasiatika, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig 2002, cat. nos. 425, 430, 489, 501