A RARE FAMILLE-VERTE 'BIRDS AND FLOWERS' YEN-YEN VASE QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD

the rounded baluster body surmounted by a tall cylindrical neck and a wide flared rim, brightly enamelled in shades of green, blue, yellow, iron-red, aubergine with black and gold details, depicting a pair of ribbon-tailed birds perched on craggy rocks among luscious peonies on one side and two songbirds on a gnarled branch of camellia tree on the other, the shoulder picked out with a band of iron-red key-fret suspending green ruyi, below a border of green lattices interspersed with florets, the neck similarly decorated with two songbirds perched on rocks among large chrysanthemum, asters, clump of iris and red wisterias, below a blue double line at the rim further repeated around the shoulder and the foot, the white glazed base centred with a double ring in underglaze blue

Sotheby's London, 6th December 1994, lot 199.
Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 780.

The vase is in overall very good condition with only expected light scratches in areas on the lower register, and a faint star-shaped crackle in the glaze on the base that is not in the body.
"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."

This vase is notable for the richly painted scene of birds in a rocky outcrop of flowering plants. The confident brushwork, seen particularly in the application of black enamel and lush palette of greens, blues and vivid red, presents a luxurious design enhanced through the use of gilt paint. Birds are painted in pairs which suggest that this may have been presented on the occasion of a marriage.

Vases of this form and size, and similarly accented with gilt painting, include one depicting a related scene of birds amongst flowers from the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, sold at Christie's New York, 6th June 1985, lot 406; and another depicting lotus flowers, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 53, pl. 36. See also a vase with a similar scene, another illustrated in Toru Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, Tokyo, 1985, pl. 142; and another sold in our London rooms, 28th June 1983, lot 81. Compare also a beaker vase with a related design in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, included in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, col. pl. 406.

Related bird and flower designs are also known on yen yen vases of this size in underglaze blue; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Qing Shunzhi Kangxi chao qinghua ci, Bejing, 2005, pl. 305; and another in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Kangxi Porcelain Wares, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 68-1.