A FINE PAIR OF 'FAMILLE-ROSE' 'WRAPED' JARS AND COVERS SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

each of elegant baluster form, rising from a waisted foot to a broad short neck with everted rim, moulded around the upper body with a large knotted sash brightly enamelled with florets and scrolling foliage reserved on a lime-green ground, all reserved on a lotus strapwork pink ground between ruyi and lotus-lappet bands, the shoulder set with four simple gilt loop handles, the base and interior turquoise, the stepped domed cover similarly painted and surmounted by a naturalistically modelled lotus seed pod finial, wood stands, fitted boxes

J.M.Hu Family Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 4th June 1985, lot 72.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1999, lot 400. 

Qianlong 'famille-rose' vases with the eye-catching design of a knotted cloth were much favoured by the Qianlong emperor who enjoyed objects that contained elements of simulation of other materials. He challenged his artists to make pieces that were technically innovative and unconventional in their aesthetics, and the present pair of jars may have been included in his treasured ceramics collection for its fanciful decoration. During his reign the refinement of materials and craftsmanship and the expansion of the range of glaze and enamel colours allowed potters to become highly ambitious in their repertoire. Pieces such as these jars with the design in relief cleverly executed to appear silky and textured like real cloth, were made for show and are remarkable ceramic trompe-l’oeil . 

See a zun vase painted as if wrapped with a cloth around the body and similarly tied in a knot on a turquoise-ground, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 40; and a painted enamel jar also with the knotted cloth design, included in the exhibition Splendors of China's Forbidden City. The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, cat.no. 336. Compare also a famille rose jar sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1987, lot 273. This type of decoration continued to be favoured by Qianlong's son, the Jiaqing Emperor, and was used as decoration on vases; see a Jiaqing mark and period double vase seemingly bound together by a knotted cloth, sold in our New York rooms, 27th November 1990, lot 211.  

The present pair of jars is also interesting because it is clearly inspired by two cultures. Chinese influence can be seen in the shape of the jars; see a related Qianlong jar with handles around the shoulder illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 113. The painted knotted cloth design is a Japanese concept reflecting Japanese packaging customs and can be seen on Japanese lacquerware. For examples of lacquer boxes see those included in the exhibition, Toyo no urushi kogei (Oriental Lacquer Arts), Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1977, passim; and a Chinese lacquer box conceived after Japanese designs, from the Qing Court Collection, included in Imperial Packing Art of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2000, pl. 161.