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A VERY RARE PORTUGUESE MARKET BLUE AND WHITE BOTTLE VASE (YUHUCHUNPING) JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD, DATED 1552
Description
- ceramics
Provenance
Condition
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
The almost indecipherable inscription should probably read ISTO MANDOU FAZER JORGE ALVRS NA ERA DE 1552 REINA, which Filipa de Cruz Martins in the unpublished thesis Early Sino-Portuguese Porcelain, 1993, translates as ‘Jorge Alvarez ordered this to be made in the era of 1552’. The original text given to the Chinese artisan to copy would undoubtedly have specified the King in whose reign the pieces were made. However the combination of the craftsman’s poor understanding of the Portuguese language and limited space available on the vase most probably resulted in the exclusion of some of the text. Indeed, the appearance of a name in the Roman alphabet on pieces of Chinese porcelain is predated only by three bowls held in the Museu Raina D. Leonor in Beja, Portugal, the Duca de Martina Museum, Naples, and the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, which are dated 1541 and bear the name of Pedro de Faria.
Jorge Alvarez, merchant and adventurer, is often confused with his earlier namesake who headed the Portuguese expedition to China before his death in 1521. The person associated with these bottles however, is recorded as having been in 1552 in the island of Shangchuan, near Canton, a place where Portuguese merchants were believed to have conducted their commerce. Here he invited his friend, the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, to reside at his thatched hut. Xavier was taken suddenly ill and died in 1552 while still at Shangchuan. It is thus tempting to suggest that these bottles were perhaps commissioned as a tribute by Alvarez to his friend Xavier.
Foreign elements aside, the form and decorative scheme is confidently rendered with the deep violet-blues and dynamic painterly style associated with the best examples of the Jiajing period. The highly auspicious motif was particularly popular in this period, due to emperor’s personal fascination towards Daoism and its magical practices. Cranes and deer, both symbolic of immortality, create the auspicious pun liuhe, which refers to the six points of the universe including the four directions, zenith and nadir, while the pine and bamboo trees are symbolic of longevity and integrity.