Page 116 - Bonhams UK Marsh Collection Art for the Literati November 2, 2022

42 *
A VERY FINE BLUE AND WHITE 'HAN XIN' PEAR-SHAPED VASE
Kangxi
Elegantly potted with an ovoid body rising from a short foot to a long
cylindrical neck and flaring mouth rim, painted around the body in
vibrant tones of cobalt-blue with a continuous scene of Han Xin and
companion on horseback being chased by Xiao He riding at full gallop
followed by an attendant emerging from a gate, Han Xin stops by the
river with fan held aloft while a boatman approaches, all amidst pine
trees and craggy rocks, a herring-bone border under the mouth rim.
18.3cm (7 1/4in) high.
£4,000 - 6,000
CNY32,000 - 49,000

清康熙 青花「蕭何月下追韓信」故事圖膽瓶
Provenance:
S.Marchant & Son, London
Adrian M. Joseph (d.2010), Hong Kong, 6 September 1985
Published, Exhibited and Illustrated:
S. Marchant & Son, Chinese Blue and White - Wanli to K'ang Hsi,
London, 1980, no.71

來源：
倫敦古董商S.Marchant & Son 香港Adrian M. Joseph（逝於2010年）
舊藏，1985年9月6日

出版展覽：
S. Marchant & Son，《Chinese Blue and White - Wanli to K'ang Hsi》
，1980年，編號71

Han Xin 韓信 (died 196 BC) was a military general who served Liu
Bang 劉邦 (died 195 BC) in founding the Han dynasty. Initially, Liu
Bang was not impressed with Han Xin and put him in charge of food
supplies. After a while, Han Xin became discontented and attempted
to desert under the cover of darkness. Xiao He 蕭何 (died 193 BC),
one of Liu Bang's chief advisers, recognised Han Xin's talent, however,
and heard that he left. Xiao He immediately chased after Han Xin to
bring him back, whereupon Han Xin was promoted to the rank of
general. According to some versions of the story, Xiao He was able
to catch up to Han Xin because the rise in water level prevented Han
from crossing the river. In the Jin dynasty, Jin Renjie wrote the play
'Xiao He Chasing after Han Xin under the Moon' in which Xiao He
invited Han Xin for a boat ride after catching up with him; several other
Ming dynasty versions of the story also existed.

The original story, recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji (史記), would have
resonated strongly with many scholar-officials during the late Ming
dynasty, who felt their talents to serve in the government were not
being appreciated under the waning Ming empire. The same motif can
be found on a baluster vase, c.1635-40, illustrated in Seventeenth
Century Chinese Porcelain from the Butler Family Collection,
Alexandria, 1990, p.78, no.37. See also a very similar blue and white
vase, with the same design, Kangxi, illustrated in Folklore in Ming and
Qing Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2019, pp.48-49. Another very similar vase
with the same design, Kangxi, is illustrated by H.Garner, Oriental Blue
and White, London, 1970, pl.69, no.A.

(two views) Lot 42 (catalogue cover) Lot 43 (book cover and invoice)

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
116 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.