A Large Chinese Famille-Verte 'Animals' Baluster Jar and Cover, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period

Decorated with three registers of overlapping lobed panels, each enclosing vignettes of animals or flowers, the present jar is laden with auspicious symbolism. A stunning variety of real and mythical animals are depicted, including phoenix, tiger, qilin, bixie, deer, lion, and double-horned horse sporting the yin-yang symbol and the Eight Trigrams. All of these creatures inhabit the mythological realm of the Daoist goddess Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss. Such a vase would therefore convey the wish for a long life. Each individual panel also conveys its own blessings. For example, butterflies amongst flowers (hulianhua) connote joy, love, and good fortune, cranes and deer are emblems of longevity, and the eagle confronting a bear (yingxiong) form a rebus for 'hero'.

The rich use of colorful enamels suggest that this vase would have belonged to someone of high stature or wealth. Given the European frenzy for Chinese porcelain in 17th and 18th centuries, vessels like the present were also highly desirable in the Occident, fueling the vogue for chinoiserie. On account of its large size and extremely lavish decoration, such a vase could have been owned by either Chinese and European elite in this period, although its auspicious symbolism may have been lost on the latter. 

Compare two closely related jars and covers, both sold in our London rooms, May 15, 2013: one with animals within pointed panels, lot 139, and the other with lobed panels enclosing birds and flowers, lot 137. See also a very similarly enameled slender baluster vase with a taller neck, published in Jeffrey P. Stamen and Cynthia Volk, A Culture Revealed: Kangxi-era Chinese Porcelain from the Jieruitang Collection, Bruges, 2017, pl. 70.