Property from a Brazilian Private Collection
A pair of famille-rose ‘soldier’ vases, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Lot Closed
June 9, 01:35 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
each of tall baluster form, finely painted with a continuous scene of peonies and other flowering plants in a garden with rockwork and orange fencing, beneath a ruyi-edged border filled with flowerheads on pale blue and pink diaper grounds and a blue-ground border of flowerheads around the waisted neck beneath a formal keyfret border at the mouth, together with later gilt-wood stands and covers (6)
Height of vases: 109 cm, 42⅞ in.; Height of stands 62 cm, 24⅜ in.; Height of covers 26 cm, 10¼ in.
Acquired by the father of the current owner circa 1978, probably in Lisbon.
The term 'soldier' or 'dragoon' vase, typically applied to vases of monumental size and high European taste, appears to derive from the events of 1717, when Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony traded a regiment of soldiers for an assemblage of Chinese porcelain including several blue and white Kangxi period vases of this very large size. Later housed in the royal palaces of Dresden and forming the inspiration for
'Soldier' vases, despite their large size, appear to have been made in some quantity, and examples exist in blue and white, iron-red and gilt, Imari and famille-rose palettes. Most of these are now found in the West and it is generally assumed that they were made for the export market, although the exceptional quality of some examples, the present included, may serve to question to this assumption. Other attested vases of related design are rare but known, including a set of four vases and covers from a Palm Beach Private Collector sold in our New York rooms, 29th March 2011, lot 59; and a pair from the collection of Flora Whitney Miller (1897-1986) with closely related gilt-wood stands, sold in our New York rooms, 17th October 2022, lot 89.