A RARE PAIR OF FAMILLE-ROSE IMITATION CINNABAR LACQUER JARS AND COVERS QING DYNASTY, DAOGUANG PERIOD, SHENDE TANG MARKS

each jar finely potted, the ovoid body adorned with eight pairs of flying bats in blue and green enamel in low-relief outlined in gilt, reserved on a densely carved coral-red wan-diaper ground imitating cinnabar lacquer, all between bands of pendant ruyi-heads draping the shoulder, upright plantain-leaf lappets collaring the neck and stylised lappets skirting the gilded keyfret foot, the interior and the base glazed turquoise, the recessed base inscribed in iron-red with a four-character hall mark Shende Tang zhi ('Made for the Hall of Prudent Virtue'), the domed cover similarly decorated with five bats, surmounted by a round shou-character finial, the details picked out in gilt including the mouth and finial

Rare Art, New York, 27th November 1972.

There are a few minute nicks to the raised areas of the diaper ground, which appear as white areas of loss. The knop on one of the covers has fallen off and has been restuck. However, the overall condtiion is still very good with very little wear to the gilding and enamelling. There are a few darker enamel spots on the body, but these are not repairs or touch-ups to the enamelling, they are original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Carved cinnabar lacquer was imitated in porcelain since at least the Qianlong period, but simulated lacquer vases are very rare, probably because lacquer vases themselves are uncommon, the material having been used more typically for bowls, dishes and boxes.

The diagonal fretwork design covering the ground of these jars is based on a swastika motif, a good-luck symbol that stands for the character wan ('ten thousand', or 'endless'), thus signifying longevity together with the shou ('long life') characters on the covers, and endless happiness (fu) together with the overall bats (fu).

This diagonal swastika pattern is recorded as a Qing lacquer motif and appears on its own, for example on a rectangular tray in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Hai-wai Yi-chen. Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Lacquerware, Taipei, 1987, pl. 161; or on the upper surface of a Qing dynasty lacquer garden seat, published in Wu Fengpei, Zhongguo gudai diaoqi jindi yishu zhi yanjiu [Research into the art of the brocaded ground of ancient Chinese carved lacquerware], Taipei, 1982, p. 209, fig. 121 B, and pp. 322f., pls 66 and 66A. These geometric diaper designs otherwise rarely form the main decoration on lacquer wares and are more typically used as background designs.

A Qianlong-marked porcelain baluster jar with similar diaper design simulating cinnabar lacquer, and similar shou characters at the neck, ruyi border at the shoulder, and petal panels above the foot was sold at Christie's New York, 1st June 1979, lot 151; another Qianlong imitation lacquer vase carved with overall shou characters, is in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Republic of China: Ch'ien-lung Ware and Other Wares, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 92.

For a later porcelain version of the same design see a jar without cover of Xianfeng mark and period, included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing: The Huaihaitang Collection, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 143.

The 'Shende Tang' (Hall of Prudent Virtue) mark is an imperial Daoguang mark commemorating the Daoguang Emperor's residence of that name in the Yuanming Yuan Summer Palace in the outskirts of Beijing, which was completed in 1831, thus making Daoguang pieces with this mark attributable to the two decades between 1831 and 1850.