- 1126
A magnificent and rare famille-rose 'hundred deer' vase, hu seal mark and period of Qianlong
Description
Provenance
The Collection of Wilson P. Foss (1855-1930) of Underelms, Nyack, NY (no. 69).
Sotheby's New York, 18th september 1996, lot 238.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1999, lot 398.
Catalogue Note
Vases of this highly complex and exquisitely composed design are in many major museum and private collection; compare examples from the Qing Court collection, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl.85; a pair and a single vase in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs.J.M.Hu, Shanghai 1989, no.67, and in Chûgoku tôji zenshû, vol. 21, Kyoto, 1981, pl. 103; one from the Grandidier collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris, included in The World’s Great Collect ions. Oriental Ceramics, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, no. 190; and one from the collection of Stevenson Burke, sold in our New York rooms, 8th May, 1980, lot 248, and included in the exhibition 100 Masterpieces of Imperial Chinese Ceramics from the Au Bak Ling Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1998.
See also a similar Qianlong vase, from the British Rail Pension Fund, sold in these rooms, 29th November 1977, lot 159, and again, 16th May 1989, lot 89, on loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1978-85, and at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1985-1988.
The deer symbolizes immortality and is the companion of Shoulao, the God of Longevity. It also represents filial piety which comes from the folk tale of Zhou Yanzi. This is a story of a young boy who tries to get milk from a deer to cure his ailing father. To achieve his goal he wears deer skin and joins a deer herd to gather milk. The word 'deer' in Chinese is lu which is the homophone of lu (official salary). Hence, the deer also represents wealth and is associated with official and scholarly success. The idea conveyed in the ' Hundred Deer' design is a wish for great wealth and success.