Nodding head figure

Chinese clay figures, ca. 1805. Present of the Chinese Emperor to the visiting Dutch official A.H. van Limburg Stirum Brouwer, from 1804 untill 1808 member of the Dutch council which ruled the Asian colonies. The figures are made of painted clay an have nodding heads. They depict a Chinese mandarin and his wife. His hair and the dragon on his chest show his high rank. The feet of the woman have been tied off to fit in very small shoes, then a token of female beauty in China.