Page 8 - Sotheby's Imperial Chiense Porcelain Nov 4 2020 London

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A RARE FAMILLE-ROSE ‘PEONY’ BOTTLE VASE 清乾隆 粉彩捷報富貴紋荸薺瓶
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD
《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.
‡ £ 50,000-70,000

On this vase the eye is immediately drawn to the large
peony blooms with petals and leaves delicately bending
and twisting 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 in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of
the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel
Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong,
1999, pl. 89.

mark

12 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances). 13
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.