Chinese Emperor And Empress, Carved From Ivory + Cites

This is a pair of large ivory sculptures (carved from whole, curved elephant tusks, whose natural curvature has been preserved) depicting a Chinese Emperor and Empress in full court attire. The Emperor wears an official headdress adorned with pearls and a mandarin robe with a dragon medallion on the back—the dragon symbolizing imperial power. The Empress wears a phoenix crown with a carved phoenix ornament and a robe adorned with a phoenix medallion, the traditional female counterpart to the dragon. Both figures are richly decorated with cabochons inlaid with semiprecious stones and glass (turquoise, red coral, lapis lazuli) on the collar, headdress, and tassels, and rest on matching turned wooden bases. At the foot of the Emperor’s figure

Height total with stand 96cm. Shipping EU only.