A PAIR OF POLYCHROME PAINTED CLAY NODDING-HEAD FIGURES Late 18th/early 19th century (2)A PAIR OF POLYCHROME PAINTED CLAY NODDING-HEAD FIGURESLate 18th/early 19th centuryEach figure standing wearing simulated silk garments, the faces realistically modelled, the man wearing a robe decorated in the centre with four-clawed dragons, holding a snuff bottle in his right hand, his queue made of real hair beneath his hat, the lady wearing a green robe with a yellow vest painted with a front-facing dragon. The tallest, 29cm (11.3/8in) high. (2).十八世紀末/十九世紀初 彩繪泥塑點頭文官仕女擺件一對'Nodding head' figures were popular in the corridor of the Prince Regent's Pavilion at Brighton by 1815. In 1847-8, they were moved to Buckingham Palace. Similar figures can even be seen in Johan Zoffany's painting of Queen Charlotte's dressing room at Windsor in 1764. See a related figure of a standing Mandarin holding a halberd, 18th/19th century, illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, vol.3, London, 2016, p.927, no.2091; see also a related pair of clay figures of a gentleman and lady, circa 1750, illustrated by D.S.Howard, A Tale of Three Cities, Canton, Shanghai and Hong Kong: Three Centuries of Sino-British Trade in the Decorative Arts, London, 1997, no.188.Compare with a related pair of painted plaster 'nodding head' figures of an official and lady, Qianlong/Jiaqing, which was sold at Bonhams London, 11 May 2021, lot 303.