A RARE PAIR OF FINELY DECORATED CELADON-GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE 'BAJIXIANG' LOBED VASES, QIANLONG SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD | 清乾隆 粉青地粉彩八吉祥紋瓜棱式瓶一對 《大清乾隆年製》款

This exquisite pair of vases are remarkable for their vibrantly painted motif of bajixiang in famille-rose enamels, the richness of which is accentuated by the celadon-glazed ground. Their unusual lobed form with a flaring mock foot which resembles textile pleats, displays the Qing craftsmen’s creative virtuosity in devising new forms and designs that catered to the Qianlong emperor’s passion for opulent and exotic objects.  

These vases display a fusion of Tibetan and Chinese elements through both their unusual silhouette and subject matter. The Qianlong emperor was a true believer and active practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and built numerous monasteries and temples in both Beijing, the Yuanmingyuan Summer Palace and Chengde. He commissioned large quantities of ritual implements and sacrificial vessels to both furnish these newly built religious spaces and as gift to family and court members. His fervent support for the religion influenced the artistic direction of the Jingdezhen imperial kilns and resulted in the emergence of an innovative style that combined Tibetan iconography with Chinese decorative motifs. These vases testify to this trend; the bajixiang (Eight Auspicious Symbols), in Sanskrit ashtamangala, important Tibetan symbols that represented aspects of the Buddha, were combined with stone chimes and a colourful palette that was pioneered by Qianlong. Their unusual lobed form, with each lobe splaying gently outwards above the foot, recalls the practice of wrapping Buddhist altar vessels and sculptures in luxuriant cloths.

Vases of this unusual form and decoration are very rare, and no other closely related example appears to have been published. A vase of similar multi-lobed form, but with the lobes continuing to the neck and foot, and described as having been inspired by the form of melons, painted in iron-red and underglaze blue with bats, stone-chimes and floral sprigs, is illustrated in Qingdai taoci daquan [An encyclopaedia of Qing porcelain], Taipei, 1989, p. 265. See also a lobed zun-shaped vase, with floral sprigs painted in doucai enamels and attributed to the Yongzheng reign (r. 1723-1735), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 228.

Compare also altar vessels similarly painted with bajixiang on a celadon ground, such as a censer sold in these rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 439, and again in our New York rooms, 20th March 2019, lot 542; and another sold in these rooms, 15th July 1980, lot 164.

本對瓶份粉彩八吉祥紋飾鮮豔，映襯淡雅粉青地，更見豐富。器型呈瓜棱式，外撇足形如褶襉，甚為罕見，反映清代藝匠為迎合乾隆皇帝喜好華麗奇趣工藝之品味，製成新穎器型紋飾，創意層出。

此類瓶器器型及紋飾主題獨特，揉合西藏及中原工藝元素。乾隆皇帝虔奉藏傳佛教，於北京、承德等地興建寺廟，並下令製作大批禮器，陳設於新建寺廟，以及賜予皇族成員及朝官，其熱心支持宗教，對景德鎮御窰瓷匠創作影響甚深，成就揉合西藏及中原紋飾之創新風格，如本瓶之品正可反映此風尚；八吉祥乃重要西藏佛教符號，配合創於乾隆御窰之石鐘及新穎顏彩，極為獨特。而瓜棱式器型，每瓣自瓶足而發微向外撇，隱然呼應佛壇禮器及造型以華麗織品包裹之習俗。

此器型紋飾獨特，據現時記載並無近例。比較一品，瓜棱式器型，瓜棱形狀延續至瓶頸及瓶足，繪青花礬紅彩祥蝠、石鐘及花卉紋飾，圖載於《清代陶瓷大全》，台北，1989年，頁265。另比一鬪彩花卉紋飾例，斷代雍正，現存於北京故宮博物院，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系．五彩．鬪彩》，香港，1999年，圖版228。

尚有數例，八吉祥紋飾相近，青釉地，其一售於倫敦蘇富比1989年12月12日，編號439，後易手於紐約蘇富比2019年3月20日，編號542；其二售於倫敦蘇富比1980年7月15日，編號164。