- 331
清乾隆 銅鏨胎琺瑯開光畫西洋人物圖瓶
估價
200,000 - 300,000 USD
招標截止
描述
- Painted enamals on repousse gilt-copper
the ovoid body rising to a short waisted neck, delicately painted on either side with European scenes within shaped cartouches, the first depicting a shepherd and his flock, the second with a couple by a riverbank, the lady seated beside a child and dog, all framed within gilt stylized leaves and C-scrolls decorating the body and neck, all reserved on a blue enamel ground, the shoulder with a paste-set band, the interior enameled turquoise and the base enameled white
Condition
A consolidated firing crack encircling the lower body, running approximately 2 cm above the foot ring, with small associated areas of restoration to the enamels and some associated over-spray to the base. An associated vertical body crack running approximately 20.5 cm down the body, also restored. The European-subject panel depicting the European couple with a restored impact bruise to the enamels above the man's head, the surrounding areas over-sprayed. The reverse seen with a small patch of spray above the shepherd's head. Minute enamel flakes and cracks to the enamels elsewhere.
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.
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.
拍品資料及來源
The exceptional quality of painting and casting of this vase, where French rococo meets Chinese tradition, reflects the Qianlong emperor’s extravagant and eclectic taste for the lavish. Finely painted in the famille-rose palette introduced by Jesuit missionaries, the idyllic pastoral scenes of European figures in a European landscape are reminiscent of works by French rococo painters such as Francois Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard and Nicolas Lancret. The rich C-scrolls that cover the body also appear to have been inspired by the taste of Louis XV and cleverly incorporate a subtle touch of Chinese tradition through the inclusion of lotus blooms cast around the shoulder. It is a fine example of the successful combination of European and Chinese techniques and imagery to result in a striking piece, both visually and tactilely.
No other closely related vase appears to have been published although a larger Qianlong mark and period vase of this decorative style, but the C-scrolls interspersed with painted flowers, in the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-Bodies Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 215; and smaller vase, but with more Chinese decorative elements including ruyi, keyfret and stiff leaf borders along with stylised archaistic dragon handles, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th May 2013, lot 2159. A related Qianlong mark and period box and cover, painted with a European pastoral scene framed by a champlevé enamel rococo-style ground in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Enamel ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 162. Compare also an unmarked vase from the mid-Qing dynasty, of similar form to the present example painted with flowers framed by raised gilt ruyi and stiff leaf borders, in the Qing Court collection, illustrated inThe Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-Bodies Enamel Ware, op. cit., pl. 237. Painted enamel vessels are more commonly found with painted floral grounds rather than the raised C-scroll decorating the present vase; for example see a censer and cover, similarly decorated with pastoral scenes surrounded by florets reserved on a gilt ground, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th/30th September 1992, lot 893.
This vase traces the level of interaction and exchange between the Qing court and Jesuit missionaries, who introduced the technique of enamelling on metal to Chinese craftsmen recruited from Guangzhou to work in the Palace Workshops. Yang Boda, in the exhibition catalogue Tributes from Guangdong to the Court, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 63, mentions that enamel factories in Guangzhou ‘had to supply versatile artisans and foreign or local colours for the Imperial Workshop in Beijing. Thus both the development and improvement of the standard of the imperial enamel workshop was entirely dependent on Guangdong enamel factories’.
The attraction of Western subject matter for the Qianlong emperor is closely linked to one of the most grand and ambitious architectural projects he commissioned: the expansion of the Yuanming Yuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace, into thousands of magnificently furnished residential halls and offices. This massive palace was divided into five complexes and garden areas that occupied over 865 acres of lands. One of the five complexes was the European-style palace buildings inspired by the Trianon in Versailles, which were designed to satisfy Qianlong’s taste for the exotic as well as his desire to be seen as the universal ruler. This highly innovative palace complex, designed by Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit working at the Qing court, was constructed between 1747 and 1759. Built in the B aroque style, with formal French-inspired gardens and European fountains that Qianlong had seen in Western paintings and prints, they were filled with Western-style furnishing and decorations. It also housed the emperor’s vast collection of curios, such as paintings, clocks, mechanical devices, mirrors, telescopes, globes and other European tribute items. Enamelled items decorated with European subject matter were most likely produced to be housed in the European Palace compound where they provided Qianlong a ‘window on Europe’. Thus, the present vase is important, not only for its exquisite craftsmanship but also for the insight it provides on China’s imperial history.
No other closely related vase appears to have been published although a larger Qianlong mark and period vase of this decorative style, but the C-scrolls interspersed with painted flowers, in the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-Bodies Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 215; and smaller vase, but with more Chinese decorative elements including ruyi, keyfret and stiff leaf borders along with stylised archaistic dragon handles, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th May 2013, lot 2159. A related Qianlong mark and period box and cover, painted with a European pastoral scene framed by a champlevé enamel rococo-style ground in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Enamel ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 162. Compare also an unmarked vase from the mid-Qing dynasty, of similar form to the present example painted with flowers framed by raised gilt ruyi and stiff leaf borders, in the Qing Court collection, illustrated inThe Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-Bodies Enamel Ware, op. cit., pl. 237. Painted enamel vessels are more commonly found with painted floral grounds rather than the raised C-scroll decorating the present vase; for example see a censer and cover, similarly decorated with pastoral scenes surrounded by florets reserved on a gilt ground, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th/30th September 1992, lot 893.
This vase traces the level of interaction and exchange between the Qing court and Jesuit missionaries, who introduced the technique of enamelling on metal to Chinese craftsmen recruited from Guangzhou to work in the Palace Workshops. Yang Boda, in the exhibition catalogue Tributes from Guangdong to the Court, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 63, mentions that enamel factories in Guangzhou ‘had to supply versatile artisans and foreign or local colours for the Imperial Workshop in Beijing. Thus both the development and improvement of the standard of the imperial enamel workshop was entirely dependent on Guangdong enamel factories’.
The attraction of Western subject matter for the Qianlong emperor is closely linked to one of the most grand and ambitious architectural projects he commissioned: the expansion of the Yuanming Yuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace, into thousands of magnificently furnished residential halls and offices. This massive palace was divided into five complexes and garden areas that occupied over 865 acres of lands. One of the five complexes was the European-style palace buildings inspired by the Trianon in Versailles, which were designed to satisfy Qianlong’s taste for the exotic as well as his desire to be seen as the universal ruler. This highly innovative palace complex, designed by Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit working at the Qing court, was constructed between 1747 and 1759. Built in the B aroque style, with formal French-inspired gardens and European fountains that Qianlong had seen in Western paintings and prints, they were filled with Western-style furnishing and decorations. It also housed the emperor’s vast collection of curios, such as paintings, clocks, mechanical devices, mirrors, telescopes, globes and other European tribute items. Enamelled items decorated with European subject matter were most likely produced to be housed in the European Palace compound where they provided Qianlong a ‘window on Europe’. Thus, the present vase is important, not only for its exquisite craftsmanship but also for the insight it provides on China’s imperial history.