Woman Holding a Child, Chitqua, c. 1775
polychromed wood, h 57.0cm × w 29.0cm × d 31.5cm More details
The Chinese denied European women entry into Canton. Despite this ban, several Western women nevertheless managed to visit Canton. The Chinese sculptor Chitqua might have made this statuette –possibly a portrait –on such an occasion. Quite exceptionally, the figure is carved from wood rather than modelled in clay, like Chitqua’s other known works.
