Page 36 - Ming Porcelain Sothebys march 2018

34 SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK 20 MARCH 2018 MING: LUMINOUS DAWN OF EMPIRE

Fig. 2 A " ne, magni" cent and extremely
rare blue and white holy water vessel,
Ming dynasty, Yongle period. Sold at
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6th April 2016,
lot 15

ྡɚ ׼͑ᆀ ڡڀᚂ،ӫʗ७ଋ˥ଧ
࠰ಥᘽబˢ2016ϋ4˜6˚dᇜ໮15

In the Yongle period, the Jingdezhen kilns also tried to copy these celadon
versions of the Song dynasty, but only a discarded example is known from the ͑ᆀϋගd౻ᅃᕄಀ༊ͷɪࠑ҂˾ڡཊଧfϤ
waste heaps of the Ming imperial kiln sites. The bottle, with a fairly dark olive- ᗳۜ၇ͦۃසԈ׼੿㜺፲ѧ̈ɺಞኜdཊЍ༰
green glaze perhaps intended to imitate Yaozhou celadon, has been excavated ଉdאจͷᘴψ㜺ڡཊኜdमʆ̈ɺdಀ࢝׵
at Zhushan and was included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu ౻ᅃᕄ̈ɺ׼ڋ֜㜺ନኜ‘dᒿᐤߕஔ᎜d̨
̏d1996ϋdᇜ໮121f
guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen,
Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 121. ̤̙ਞϽɓɤʞ˰ߏڡڀଋ˥ଧԷdϋ˾אଫ
ૉd७ུ೹ମdଧԒЪڀᖙόdԑ༰ʃdྡ༱׵
Compare also another 15th century holy water bottle of blue-and-white
ࡾ౶̔ॶᄁʿᑡλԽdA Dealer§s Hand
porcelain, probably slightly later in date, of di# erent design, of lobed shape and The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes
with a smaller foot, illustrated in Giuseppe Eskenazi in collaboration with Hajni of Giuseppe Eskenazi‘dࡐ౱d2012ϋdྡ
Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe و340f
Eskenazi, London, 2012, pl. 340.
͉ଧኜҖʿ७ུd৻ඤɓಃ̙Ԉ׵ᘦߎ੹ۜ
The basic form and design of the present $ ask are, however, much better ၇fπ˰૶ࢗ೥Ъʘʕd̙Ԉ৷֚Ѭ׵ࢬ෤ʕ
ሧ೥dԒМໄɓࣲdࣲɪ௓ணᅰኜdуܼ̍ɓ
known from pieces of the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) painted in iron-red.
΁ᘦߎ੹͚ᚣଧdኜҖၾ͉ۜ޴Νf̤̙ਞ
The Qianlong Emperor had himself painted seated in a garden and looking
ϽɓԷd૶ࢗᔚᔛdତπ׵̏ԯ݂ࢗ௹ي৫d
at a painting, next to a table laid with various vessels, among them a red-
ྡ༱׵The Palace Museum’s Essential
decorated kundika of this form. A similar vessel of the Qianlong period from Collections: Chinese Ceramic Wares
the Qing court collection and still in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated with Polychrome Glaze‘d࠰ಥd2016ϋd
in The Palace Museum’s Essential Collections: Chinese Ceramic Wares with ྡو272dࣣʕাd૶ࢗᏦࣩ༱ຖௗ֜ࡥߵಀւ
Polychrome Glaze, Hong Kong, 2016, pl. 272, where it is stated, p. 314, that նደႡϤᗳͣήᘦߎ੹ଋ˥ଧdࠫ314fν͉ۜ
“the Qing court archive records that Tang Ying, the Director General of the ʘ͚ᚣଧdאಀІࢗʕ৔ֻ౻ᅃᕄd˸Ъᅼ͉f
Imperial Kiln, had been commissioned by the imperial court to produce this
type of pure-water vase with decorative designs in iron-red enamel on a white
ground.” A vessel like the present one may well have been sent to Jingdezhen
as a model.