Lot 309
  • 309

A FAMILLE-VERTE 'BIRD AND FLOWER' INSCRIBED ROULEAU VASE QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description

  • porcelain
  • Height 10 in., 25.4 cm
the cylindrical form finely enameled with a depiction of a bird, short strokes of brown and iron-red defining its plumage, perched on a gnarled branch amid a profusion of flowers in iron red, yellow, aubergine and blue, the multilayered petals carefully articulated against twisting leaves of varying green tones, with a two-line poetic inscription signed Yunqiao and a seal mark Zhushiju, a foliate band reserved on a spiral green ground on the shoulder, a leafing bamboo stalk in black curving around the neck, coll. no. 1589

Provenance

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York. 

Condition

The vase has a long fine restored crack to one side of the inscription. There is wear to the surface and enamels consistent with age and use.
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.

Catalogue Note

Combining image and text on porcelain was one of many innovations instituted by the skilled artisans of Jingdezhen during the Kangxi period. The calligraphy on the present vase reads Juanjuan yuye fen qianye zhuozhuo qihua sai baihua which may be translated as "The curled auspicious leaves breaking into thousands, the luminous jade flowers outshining hundreds of other flowers". The seal mark Zhushiju (Bamboo Retreat) appears on other Kangxi wares painted with literati themes. A famille-verte dish bearing the same studio mark from the Butler Collection is illustrated in Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections, London, 2006, cat. no. 113. Wang Qingzheng, in an introductory essay, remarks that there may have been an association between literati painters of the period and certain specialized studios such as Zhushiju which had a reputation for producing high quality porcelains (ibid., p. 47).