A rare and large pair of famille-rose vases Seal marks and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 粉彩豆青地凸雕暗八仙開光人物故事圖螭耳大瓶一對 《大清乾隆年製》款
Auction Closed
May 27, 08:14 AM GMT
Estimate
1,000,000 - 1,500,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
A rare and large pair of famille-rose vases
Seal marks and period of Qianlong
清乾隆 粉彩豆青地凸雕暗八仙開光人物故事圖螭耳大瓶一對 《大清乾隆年製》款
70.5 cm
This sumptuous pair of vases is a striking display of the virtuosity demonstrated by the craftsmen working during the Qianlong period in both its massive size and decoration. It seamlessly combines scenes of historical themes with complex and contemporary decorative techniques to result in a piece that celebrates both history and innovation. Such vessels are marvels of the Qianlong period, of which only a small group was produced, and represent the Qianlong Emperor’s taste which increasingly gravitated towards artistically intricate porcelain designs.
One recessed panel depicts the story of Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage. The story originates from the famous 14th-century novel Sanguo Yanyi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms) attributed to Luo Guanzhong. This scene in particular appears to be depicting the first visit where Liu Bei and his comrades Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are turned away by Zhuge Liang’s servant. Informed by historical events, the story takes place in the 3rd-century during the turbulent years at the end of the Han Dynasty. The part-factual, part-mythological story chronicles the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who vied for the mandate to rule and reunify the country. Themes of a kingdom divided and of conquest strategy would have had a wide appeal in the early Qing dynasty.
The other panel depicts the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove enjoying music, arts, and unspoiled nature in a garden. The sages were literary recluses of the 3rd century, who regularly met in a bamboo grove to drink wine and discuss arts and literature. By rejecting an official career, they came to represent a social movement that advocated individual freedom, self-expression and the Daoist ideology of harmony with nature.
Qianlong potters were masters at combining historical scenes with a myriad of decorative techniques to create ever new designs. The vases are lavishly adorned with relief white slip-decorated bats and ruyi clouds, iron-red and gilt bajixiang (Eight Buddhist Emblems), scattered with ball flowers and flower sprigs in bright enamels, all on a pale celadon ground and flanked by a pair of pink-enamelled stylised dragon handles.
Only a small number of close counterparts of such large size and calibre has been published, including another nearly identical vase but on a coral and gold ground, formerly in the collection of the Empress Eugénie and now in the Palace of Fontainebleau collection, illustrated in Le Musée chinois de l'impératrice Eugénie, Musée National du Château de Fontainebleau, 1986, figs 16-17, where it is shown on top of a large display cabinet. See also an identical vase sold at Christie's New York, Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art, 14th September 2017, lot 748.
For other unmarked vases with similar decorative design - white-slip bats and clouds, bajixiang on a celadon ground - see John Ayres, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, vol. 2, pl. 1313; and another sold in these rooms, 8th April 2010, lot 1949.
One recessed panel depicts the story of Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage. The story originates from the famous 14th-century novel Sanguo Yanyi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms) attributed to Luo Guanzhong. This scene in particular appears to be depicting the first visit where Liu Bei and his comrades Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are turned away by Zhuge Liang’s servant. Informed by historical events, the story takes place in the 3rd-century during the turbulent years at the end of the Han Dynasty. The part-factual, part-mythological story chronicles the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who vied for the mandate to rule and reunify the country. Themes of a kingdom divided and of conquest strategy would have had a wide appeal in the early Qing dynasty.
The other panel depicts the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove enjoying music, arts, and unspoiled nature in a garden. The sages were literary recluses of the 3rd century, who regularly met in a bamboo grove to drink wine and discuss arts and literature. By rejecting an official career, they came to represent a social movement that advocated individual freedom, self-expression and the Daoist ideology of harmony with nature.
Qianlong potters were masters at combining historical scenes with a myriad of decorative techniques to create ever new designs. The vases are lavishly adorned with relief white slip-decorated bats and ruyi clouds, iron-red and gilt bajixiang (Eight Buddhist Emblems), scattered with ball flowers and flower sprigs in bright enamels, all on a pale celadon ground and flanked by a pair of pink-enamelled stylised dragon handles.
Only a small number of close counterparts of such large size and calibre has been published, including another nearly identical vase but on a coral and gold ground, formerly in the collection of the Empress Eugénie and now in the Palace of Fontainebleau collection, illustrated in Le Musée chinois de l'impératrice Eugénie, Musée National du Château de Fontainebleau, 1986, figs 16-17, where it is shown on top of a large display cabinet. See also an identical vase sold at Christie's New York, Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art, 14th September 2017, lot 748.
For other unmarked vases with similar decorative design - white-slip bats and clouds, bajixiang on a celadon ground - see John Ayres, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, vol. 2, pl. 1313; and another sold in these rooms, 8th April 2010, lot 1949.