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A MINIATURE BAMBOO CARVING OF TWO BOYS AT PLAY 17th/18th century image 1
A MINIATURE BAMBOO CARVING OF TWO BOYS AT PLAY 17th/18th century image 2
Lot 9

A MINIATURE BAMBOO CARVING OF TWO BOYS AT PLAY
17th/18th century

14 May 2025, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £1,920 inc. premium

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A MINIATURE BAMBOO CARVING OF TWO BOYS AT PLAY

17th/18th century
Exquisitely carved with joyful expressions, each draped in loosely-fitted robes with their arms and legs entwined engaging in mischievous play, the bamboo patinated to a warm caramel-brown tone.
5.1cm (2in) high.

Footnotes

十七/十八世紀 竹雕羅漢練功像

The present lot may have served as a toggle, or zhuizi (墜子). Before the invention of pockets, affluent individuals carried essential items (such as tobacco, money, and fan) in embroidered pouches suspended from their sashes. A toggle such as the present lot would have functioned as a counterweight, allowing the pouch to remain securely attached. Rather than repeatedly tying and untying the cord securing the pouch to the sash, the wearer could simply loop the cord around the sash, with the toggle hanging down to maintain balance and stability. For more discussion on the uses and function of toggles, see M.Duda, Traditional Chinese Toggles: Counterweights and Charms (中國傳統掛件平衡物與吉祥掛飾), Singapore, 2011, pp.11-15. See a related bamboo carving of two wrestling figures, 18th century or earlier, illustrated by Ip Yee and L.C.S.Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, vol.I, Hong Kong, 1978, pp.382-383, pl.124.

Compare with a similar bamboo carving, 18th century, which was sold at Bonhams London, 13 May 2010, lot 425.

Additional information

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