The two boys are both laughing and naked except for their blue aprons. There are two similar figures of boys in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Other figures of this type were found in the VOC Geldermalsen, a Dutch East Indiaman which foundered in 1751, and whose cargo was salvaged by Captain Michael Hatcher and subsequently sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in 1984.

Literature: Anthony du Boulay, The Duberly Collection of Chinese Art at Winchester College (Winchester, 2019), p. 88

Provenance: Bequeathed as part of the Duberly Collection, 1978; purchased by Major Montagu and Lady Eileen Duberly from John Sparks, 21 August 1952 (£16)

Location: Not on display