Page 177 - Sotheby's Important Chinese Art, Sept. 21-22, 2-21, NYC

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A VERY LARGE BLUE AND WHITE ‘BOYS’ despair, since many pieces consistently failed to come out A LARGE WUCAI ‘DRAGON’ JARDINIÈRE Porzellansammlung, Dresden, which was exhibited in
̈
FISHBOWL perfectly year after year. MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI Schatze Chinas in Museen der DDR: Kunsthandwerk und
MARK AND PERIOD OF JIAJING A similar vessel is illustrated in Enlightening Elegance: Imperial the deep sides tapering slightly towards the base and Kunst aus vier Jahrtausenden, Roemerund Pelizaeus-
Porcelain of the mid to late Ming, the Huaihaitang Collection, Museum, Hildesheim, 1990, cat. no. 140; one from the
the broad sides widening at the mouth, painted in deep Hong Kong, 2013, pl. 57, with the boys in a more lush setting. rising to a galleried rim, boldly painted with two five-clawed collection of Wong Kai Zur, exhibited in Shanghai in 1908,
cobalt blue with a continuous scene of playful boys engaged Two examples in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, one dragons striding above a lotus pond, each with a serpentine and illustrated in A. W. Bahr, Old Chinese Porcelain and
in various activities amidst a landscape setting, some holding painted with dragons and the other with Buddhist lions, scaly body emitting flame wisps, a spiky ridged spine, and Works of Art in China, London, 1911, pl. XXVIII; and one
lanterns, parasols, and chimes, others flying a kite or playing are published in Lu Minghua, Shanghai bowuguan cangpin sharp talons, the pond teeming with lingzhi, waterweeds, and offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th April 1992, lot 59. A
weiqi, all below thin scrolling cloud wisps and a galleried yanjiu daxi: Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], lotus in green, yellow, or blue enamels, the rim inscribed with related Wanli mark and period jardinière featuring cobalt-
rim painted with line borders and a six-character mark in Shanghai, 2007, pls 3-84 and 3-85. A Jiajing mark and period a six-character mark in a horizontal line in underglaze blue blue dragons dashing over waves amidst a field of scrolling
underglaze blue fishbowl with a continuous scene of a lotus pond was sold at Diameter 22⅜ in., 56.9 cm yellow lotus, from the Edward T. Chow Collection sold twice
Diameter 30½ in., 77.4 cm Christie’s London, 10th July 2006, lot 118. in our Hong Kong rooms: first on 19th May 1981, lot 438, and
PROVENANCE
later on 30th October 2002, lot 244. Several examples with
PROVENANCE $ 50,000-70,000 Christie’s New York, 22nd March 1999, lot 288. the same mark, form, and palette, but with the blue dragons
Marchant, London, 22nd March 2001. Large polychrome-enameled basins of this scale, variously roaming a field of scrolling yellow lingzhi, including one
The present fishbowl is impressive for its large size 明嘉靖 青花嬰戲圖大缸 referred to as ‘fish bowls’ or ‘jardinières’, were produced at from the collection of Anthony du Boulay sold at Bonhams
and animated design of playful boys painted in striking the Wanli imperial kilns typically with a dragon or aquatic London, 10th November 2003, lot 126; one sold in our Hong
underglaze blue. Vessels of these dimensions were 《大明嘉靖年製》款 motif, or in this case, a combination of the two. Here, the Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 453; and one from the
especially difficult to produce, as explained by R.L. Hobson integration of the dragon imagery with that of the lotus Percival David Foundation, now in the collection of the British
in The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, p. 19 and 來源： pond and lingzhi, could be read as an auspicious wish for the Museum, London (acc. no. PDF.728).
p. 110, where he notes that such vessels needed up to 馬錢特，倫敦，2001年3月22日 emperor to enjoy longevity and harmony in his reign, and by
nine days of firing and that Imperial potters were driven to extension for the empire to enjoy the same. $ 60,000-80,000
Other Wanli mark and period jardinières featuring five-
clawed dragons prowling across a lotus pond where lingzhi 明萬曆 五彩雲龍穿蓮紋大缸
grow include one illustrated in Meisterwerk aus China, 《大明萬曆年製》款
Korea und Japan, Museum für Ositasiatische Kunst der
Stadt Köln, Köln, 1995, pl. 44; one in the collection of the 來源：
紐約佳士得1999年3月22日，編號288

172 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10748 IMPORTANT CHINESE ART FROM THE COLLECTION OF BRUCE DAYTON AND RUTH STRICKER DAYTON 173