A THREE-PIECE FAMILLE-ROSE GARNITURE QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD

comprising a pair of ovoid covered jars and a gu beaker vase, each finely painted with a lush setting of a peony tree with oversized-blooms intertwined with a magnolia tree issuing from rocks, with birds and butterflies in flight, set between detached orchid sprigs and double lozenges collaring the neck and a band of cartouches enclosing butterflies and flowers reserved on a yellow diaper ground centered with a pink peony around the shoulders, and a band of lime-green ground lappets skirting the foot, wood stands (7)

Collection of M.M. Tournet, Paris.
Collectio of Luis de Arrazu, Madrid.
The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York.
Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2007, lot 805.

Michel Beurdeley, Guy Raindre, Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, p 110., pl. 157.
J.P. Van Goidsenhoven, La Ceramique Chinois sous les Ts'ing (1644-1851), 1936, no. 117.
Important Chinese Export Porcelain from Kangxi to Jiaqing, The Chinese Porcelain Company, Catalogue, New York, 1999, no. 26.
The Chinese Porcelain Company, A Dealer's Record 1985-2000, New York, p. 130.

Gu vase - good condition Jars - both have scattered, very minor flaking to the enamels. One has some fine brownish speckling in the glaze, otherwise both in good condition. Covers - both have a frit to the tip of the knop. One has a 1 inch (2.4 cm) area of restoration to the rim. The other has wear to the enamels in a narrow band aroudn the curved part of the dome, and wear to the rim edge - visible on the right hand cover in the catalogue photo.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Derived from traditional Chinese altar sets, magnificent garnitures of this type were made to decorate the interiors of palaces and mansions from the late Kangxi period. initially painted in underglaze blue, new technology of the 1720s allowied for a blended, colorful palette known as famille rose that quickly became more desirable. However, the high technical skill required for successful production guaranteed fewer examples and higher costs thus making famille rose garniture of this early date, large size and fine quality very rare. The number of vessels in a garniture varied and could range from three to as many as seven depending on the desired decorative effect. For examples of garnitures in museum collections see one, from the collection of Augustus the Strong, illustrated in Eva Strober, La Maladie de Porcelaine, Leipzig, 2001,  pl. 40, in the kinrande palette; and another famille-rose five piece garniture published in Maria Antonia Pinto de Matos, Chinese Porcelain in the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, n.p., 2000, pl. 56, formerly in the Escolani Palace, Bolonha. A third garniture, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from the bequest of Benjamin Altman, is included in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pls. 271-275.  A smaller five piece garniture of the same design with European gilt mounts was sold Christie's London, 7th July 1986, lot 336.