Imperial Porcelain – A Private Collection
Imperial Porcelain – A Private Collection
Auction Closed
November 4, 11:12 AM GMT
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A RARE FAMILLE-ROSE 'PEONY' BOTTLE VASE
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD
清乾隆 粉彩捷報富貴紋荸薺瓶 《大清乾隆年製》款
the slightly compressed globular body rising from a short straight foot to a tall cylindrical neck, brightly and boldly enamelled around the exterior with a pair of butterflies hovering over blossoming peonies issuing from rockwork, the base with the six-character seal mark in underglaze blue
Height 18.5 cm, 7¼ in.
On this vase the eye is immediately drawn to the large peony blooms, whose petals and leaves delicately bend and twist as if moved by a gentle breeze. Painted in vivid enamels against a pristine white porcelain ground, this motif represents the culmination of a painterly style that became popular in the Kangxi period (r. 1662-1722), and was refined under the Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735) and Qianlong emperors. These wares illustrate the influence that contemporary paintings on paper and silk had on porcelain, especially the works of the artist Yun Shouping (1633-1690), whose flower paintings in vivid and bold colours became very popular in the Qing dynasty. Yun’s influence on porcelain designs is evident in the rendering of petals with different shades as well as the twisted leaves. Compare for example a painting of peonies by Yun in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published on the Museum’s website, accession no. K2A00123N000000002PAA.
Vases of this design and unusual form are rare, although a closely related example from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, is published on the Museum’s website, accession no. 00059782.