Lot 366
  • 366

A FAMILLE-VERTE 'DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL' ROULEAU VASE QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • Porcelain
  • Height 17 1/4  in., 43.8 cm
the cylindrical body painted in vibrant glossy enamels with a continuous scene of the Dragon Boat Festival, one dragon boat manned by twenty-four oarsmen and drummers racing across the green waters toward celebrants standing in front of a riverside mansion, a second dragon boat following close behind, spectators merrily watching from multi-storied buildings, the neck with a boatman in a landscape, the base with a double circle in underglaze blue, coll. no. 1498.

Provenance

Christie's Paris, 22nd November 2005, lot 74.

Condition

The vase is in overall good condition. There is restoration to a small chip and perhaps some fritting along the rim. There are two small areas of consolidation to the enamels; the tips of the green leaves above the boat containing the ladies and the edges of the blue sleeves of the male figure below.
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

This vase belongs to a group of famille-verte porcelains which represent a new direction in porcelain painting. The theme of spectatorship and community engagement runs throughout, with figures naturalistically reacting to one another and actively responding to the events before them. The same elements are found in contemporaneous New Year pictures (nianhua), which circulated widely as woodblock prints and were a source of inspiration for ceramicists at Jingdezhen. The Dragon Boat Festival was a favorite subject for these prints, and possibly provided the basis for this vase and others of its type. A larger famille-verte rouleau vase, also depicting the Dragon Boat Festival, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 14.40.85). A related vase, but in rouleau form and with women welcoming a phoenix, from J.T. Tai & Co. sold in these rooms, 22nd March 2011, lot 108.