Japan, 19th centuryThe mother monkey seated and grooming its young clambering at her feet, both with the fur gilt and the molded faces in delicately painted shades of iron-red, the feet with black nails.HEIGHT 15 cm, LENGTH 16 cmCondition: Excellent condition with only some firing irregularities, including minor kiln grit, a glaze recess to one leg and a few minuscule frits, old wear to gilt. The glaze with intentional crackling, which over time has darkened in some areas.Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, inventory number 23695, acquired in 2001. The Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes (China and India Company) in Paris was founded in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers, acquired in 1935 by Robert Rousset and later run by his grandnephews Mike Winter-Rousset and Hervé du Peuty. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, Robert Rousset developed the business, and the company became one of the most important dealers for Asian art in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Literature comparison:For a closely related porcelain figure of a monkey and young, also dated to the 19th century, see W. R. Sargent, The Copeland Collection of Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, Peabody Museum, pp. 260-261, no. 133.