A FINE AND RARE LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'FRUITS AND FLOWERS' VASE, TIANQIUPING SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS MAY BE REQUESTED BY SOTHEBY'S TO COMPLETE THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM AND TO DELIVER TO SOTHEBY'S A DEPOSIT OF HK$2,500,000, OR SUCH OTHER HIGHER AMOUNT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOTHEBY'S, AND ANY FINANCIAL REFERENCES, GUARANTEES AND/OR SUCH OTHER SECURITY AS SOTHEBY'S MAY REQUIRE IN ITS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS SECURITY FOR THE BID. THE BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM LOTS.

 



the well-potted globular body painted with fruiting boughs of persimmon, peach, and pomegranate laden with plump fruits, interspersed by sprigs of lotus, camellias and peonies, each springing from a cluster of lingzhi fungus, with ornate ruyi and flower lappets draping shoulder, beneath dense lotus scroll collaring the tall cylindrical neck and a ring of crested waves and pendent trefoils at the rim repeated in a broader band of waves around the base, the cobalt blue of bright purplish tone simulating 'heaping and piling' after the Ming prototype

Sotheby's New York, 15th June 1983, lot 394.
Sotheby's London, 17th November 1999, lot 783.

The vase is only slightly tilted and has a few light surface scratches. It is otherwise in overall very good 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. 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."

From Innovation to Reflecting on the Past: Early Qing Dynasty Imperial Porcelain
Hajni Elias

Designed and produced to the highest standards, the present small, but exquisite selection of porcelain wares from the collection of Dr. Alice Cheng represent the ambition and ingenuity of ceramics manufacture conceived under the patronage of three Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi (r. 1662-1722), Yongzheng (r. 1723-35) and Qianlong (r. 1736-95). While the three rulers differed in their interests and approach to arts in general, they shared the common ambition to become the ultimate patrons of Chinese culture. ‘If art patronage may have been conceived of as a duty by the Kangxi emperor, it became a passion for the Yongzheng and an obsession for the Qianlong Emperor.’¹ Porcelain production at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province was first established as the Fouliang Porcelain Bureau during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and later consolidated as the official imperial kiln site under the first Ming emperor Hongwu (r. 1368-98). Upheaval within the Ming government caused the cessation of production at Jingdezhen towards the end of the dynasty, however, imperial patronage of porcelain manufacture was revived by the Kangxi emperor and production resumed actively with the first official order recorded in 1671.  

The rare copper-red decorated bottle vase (yaoling zun) (lot 124) and the fine pair of coral-red ground wucai  decorated floral bowls (lot 122) in this group are pieces associated with two figures who played central roles in the development of early Qing ceramics production at Jingdezhen. Vessels bearing a somewhat erratically written Kangxi reign mark in three vertical lines are associated with Zang Yingxuan (dates unknown), superintendent at Jingdezhen between 1681-88. Under Zang, potters at Jingdezhen produced entirely new shapes and designs later known as Zang yao or ‘Zang wares’ of the early Kangxi period. Zang was aided by the appointment of a professional painter-calligrapher Liu Yuan (active c. 1662-91), who was recognized by the Kangxi emperor for his wide ranging artistic talent. Liu was responsible for hundreds of new porcelain designs, possibly including that seen on the present vase. Thought to be shaped after a peddler’s handbell (yaoling), this vase also closely resembles the elegant architectural form of traditional Tibetan stupas. The innovative decoration which has been said to be inspired by designs found on archaic bronzes, may also be seen as Liu’s interpretation of iconography taken from two Tibetan ritual implements, the torma (duoma) and the dharmachakra or ‘Wheel of Law’ (falun) (fig. 1).² The four finely drawn circular medallions with a spiralling centre resemble the shape of a dharmachakra,  while the design band around the base appears to be after the form of the stylized flames of the torma. The Kangxi emperor was a devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism and was regularly engaged in practice of the religion. He personally wrote out copies of the Heart Sutra and is said to have supported extravagant prayers for imperial birthdays that featured thousands of Tibetan lamas chanting the Sutra of the Buddha of Boundless Life.³ His father, the Shunzhi emperor (r. 1644-1661), invited the Great Fifth Dalai Lama to the capital in 1652, to thank him for his recognition of Manchu unification of China, Tibet and Mongolia into a single Buddhist empire, and Kangxi was named the ‘Manjughosa Emperor’ which referred to him being recognized as emanating from Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom.⁴ Kangxi’s active appeasement of the Tibetan religious hierarchy for political benefit is also manifested in the large amount of resources poured into the construction of Buddhist monasteries and temples in the capital and its summer residence at Chengde. It is said that the court’s appetite for Buddhist paintings, textiles, sculpture and ritual implements was so great that a specially dedicated production centre was established at Zhongzheng Dian (Hall of Central Righteousness) that became the headquarters of Tibetan Buddhism within the Forbidden City.⁵

The pair of coral-ground bowls is another illustration of Jingdezhen’s close relationship to Kangxi’s court. Although the two bowls bear the reign marks Kangxi yuzhi (made for imperial use of Kangxi) – marks generally found on pieces enamelled in the imperial workshops in the Forbidden City, Beijing, rather than in Jingdezhen – they belong to a small but well known group of wares that were decorated at the Imperial kiln site rather than in the Palace in the characteristic wucai palette of the period. This pair of bowls with underglaze-blue Kangxi yuzhi marks rather than enamelled marks indicate that they were decorated in Jingdezhen.

Apart from encouraging truly innovative designs and forms, early Qing rulers, especially the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors, were also keen to see historical masterpieces replicated as a reminder of the nation’s glorious past. Official stone wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279) and blue-and-white porcelain of the Ming period from the Imperial collection became models that provided the standard for the Jingdezhen potters to aspire to. These revival pieces were generally not straight copies but contemporary works with ancient designs and glazes re-interpreted to suit current taste. The magnificent iron-red and underglaze-blue decorated ‘nine dragon’ charger (lot 125) is a fine example of a Qing version of a typical Ming design. The creator of this vessel was familiar with the Xuande mark and period (r. 1426-35) blue-and-white saucer painted with a large dragon amongst waves in the centre (fig. 2),⁶ an example of which was excavated at Zhushan in Jingdezhen in 1993. The design is that of Jingdezhen’s most celebrated superintendent, Tang Ying (AD 1682-1756). Tang Ying, zi Jingong, hao Woji laoren, was a native of Shenyang, born into a family of Chinese Bannerman. Descendent of a bondservant serving directly under the emperor, Tang started his career working at the Imperial Household Workshops (Zaobanchu) at the young age of 16. During Kangxi’s reign he served in the Yangxin Dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation) where he learnt painting, poetry, calligraphy, prose, drama and other forms of scholarly arts. During Yongzheng’s reign he was promoted to the position of Vice Director of the Imperial Household Department and Chief Supervisor of the Imperial Workshop at Yangxin Dian in 1723. In this new position he was solely responsible for overlooking all the artisans working in the imperial workshops. He started designing porcelain pieces for the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen while he was working in the Forbidden City. His designs earned him his next promotion in 1726 when he was sent to Jingdezhen, initially to work under Nien Xiyao (d. 1738) and then to become the Superintendent responsible for the complete production of porcelain at the imperial factory. Thus started his long and illustrious career at Jingdezhen which lasted over 25 years. In 1756, at the age of 75 and shortly before his death, he was given an audience by the Qianlong emperor at the Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan) where he was given the honorific title Fengchen Yuan Qing (Chief Minister of the Imperial Parks Administration).

The blue-and-white meiping painted with fruits and flower sprays (lot 123) is also the creation of Tang Ying working under the patronage of Yongzheng’s son the Qianlong emperor. Tang was inspired by the design found on Yongle period (r. AD 1403-1424) vases (fig. 3)⁷ of the Ming dynasty. This vase carefully follows the general layout of the original Ming design with the plantain borders around the base and the lappets at the shoulder. The craftsman has also attempted to imitate the mottled ‘heaping and piling’ effect of the celebrated early 15th century blue and white wares through a deliberate application of darker spots to the design. In a display of his proficiency in the cobalt blue medium, the re-creation is particularly subtle and close to the prototype.  A number of vases of this form and decoration but in different sizes were produced during Qianlong’s reign, suggesting the emperor’s special fondness for this type of meiping.

The floral and fruit sprays seen on the blue and white tianqiuping (lot 121) are also ‘re-designs’ of a Yongle pattern, although the vase itself appears to be inspired by a Yongzheng example painted  with a simpler design (fig. 4).⁸ However, the difference in decoration is expected and reflects Qianlong’s fondness for more ornate and lavishly decorated pieces. Indeed, a comparison of his taste to that of his father illustrates his preference. While his father, the Yongzheng emperor, was known for his impeccably refined taste and eye for perfection in style and shape, Qianlong, on the other hand had a different approach to design. He placed more emphasis on showier aspects of production, virtuosity of craftsmanship and innovation, rather than on the underlying form or beauty of pieces.

While each object in this group is a masterpiece and technical achievement in its own right, it also tells the story of three emperors and their relationship with China’s most important kiln site and the talented artists and potters working there.

¹ Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4 (II), p. 213.
² See the exhibition catalogue Buddhist Art from Rehol, The Chang Foundation, Taipei, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 1999, cat. no. 63.
³ See the exhibition catalogue China. The Three Emperors, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, p. 132.
⁴ See ibid., p. 131.
⁵ See ibid., p. 132.
⁶ See Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, pl. 87.
⁷ See the vase sold twice in these rooms, 14th November 1983, lot 98, and again, 2nd May 2005, lot 504.
⁸ See the vase from the Qing court collection, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 83.

 

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This vase reflects the Qianlong emperor’s appreciation and understanding of the aesthetic harmony and technical virtuosity achieved by Ming craftsmen and his desire to equal or surpass those qualities. His reign is remarkable for the rich variety of styles inspired by antiquities which were adapted to contemporary taste and their outstanding standard of quality.

The design of the present piece follows an early Ming prototype. Fruiting and flowering branches first appeared on underglaze blue porcelain during the Yongle reign, a time when the potters at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen achieved enormous developments in refining the materials and expanding the decorative repertoire. Blue-and-white vases of meiping form decorated with fruiting branches are among the most characteristic products of the Yongle period; for example see a vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 2000,  pl. 30; another Yongle example from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1641, and sold three times in these rooms, most recently, 5th October 2011, lot 11.

This familiar design exudes a new life by adorning a vase of tianqiuping form. Named after its resemblance to a planet, the tianqiuping was first created in the Yongle period (r. AD 1403-24); however it is rare to find vases of this shape decorated with fruiting and flowering branches. Only one other vase that combines this form and design is known, bearing a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, from the Qing court collection, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 83 (fig. 4). The simplicity of the Yongzheng version has been replaced with more ornate variations of the decorative bands encircling the mouth and base of the neck, while the flower scroll that had covered the neck of has been condensed into a flowerscroll band in the latter. Redesigning the decorative bands allowed the craftsmen to produce vases suited to the differing taste of the two emperors.

Like many other blue-and-white wares of the early Ming period, this design was reinvented and transformed during the Yongzheng emperor’s reign before becoming one of the favourites of the Qianlong emperor, for whom it was reproduced in some quantity in a variety of palettes. Meiping vases decorated with this design in underglaze blue include one, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 117; and another from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 546. Lot 123 in the current sale is another example of a meiping vase from the Qianlong with a similar 'fruits and flowers' design.  A Qianlong meiping with a similar design in underglaze red and blue was sold in these rooms, 2nd November 1998, lot 301; and a doucai example with famille-rose enamels was also sold in these rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 513.