Chinoiserie · Painted · Chinese bonze on pedestal

The central figure in Franz Anton Bustelli’s Chinese cycle is this intricately painted idol, also called Bonze. Surrounded by gifts of flowers, the Chinese boy is enthroned on his jade-green cushion, his hands buried deep in the sleeves, decorated with a floral pattern, of his kimono. He benevolently looks down with a smile at the illustrious society gathered at his feet, which truly honours him. It is perhaps a symbol of the then Prince Elector Max III Joseph? After all, Bustelli probably designed the Temple group as table decorations for the royal Pagodenburg pavilion in the Nymphenburg Palace gardens.

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