Page 95 - Ming Porcelain Sothebys march 2018

AN EXCEPTIONAL XUANDE IMPERIAL
CLOISONNÉ BOX AND COVER

ޜኜՙᖵj܁ᅃზߣỻക೗๻ᚂ،ڀ̓೦ᇳ७ႊଷ

By Regina Krahl ੰጶё

mperial cloisonné wares of Xuande mark and period are very rare and this
܁ᅃ੿Ⴁỻക೗๻ኜd੭ϋಛ٫dମ੬ᗭ covered box appears to be unique. It belongs to a most remarkable and
੻d͉ۜһЧމ֘Էd᙮׵ɓᗳ฽ˇԈỻക I exceedingly rare group of cloisonné vessels which have the reign mark so
೗๻ۜ၇fϤᗳޜԷdϋಛѩᗪ׵ኜԒdፄ prominently placed, in plain view, integrated into the overall cloisonné design,
׵዆᜗ỻക೗๻७ུʘʕdৰ͉̮ۜdা༱ but executed in the champlevé technique. Only half a dozen such vessels are
සʞԷf
recorded, among them the two most important pieces of Chinese cloisonné
ʞԷ຅ʕdՇԷމႊଷdɓԷމ෥೐dѩུ ware extant.
ᇳ ː ७dᗪ ܁ ᅃ ಛ ׵७ ུʘගdܝ٫̈І
Stephen Winkworth ϗᔛʿɽၪᅃᐌɻ͸ᙨ The Xuande mark appears, inscribed in the same way in champlevé technique
ϗᔛdତɧԷѩ᙮ Pierre Uldry ௹ɻޜᔛfԈ within a cloisonné design, on two cylindrical covered boxes and a circular disc
Helmut Brinker ʿ Albert LutzdChinese shaped like the top of such a box, the latter from the collection of Stephen
Cloisonné The Pierre Uldry Collection‘d Winkworth and Sir Percival and Lady David and all three now in the collection
ࡐ౱d1989ϋdᇜ໮1e2ʿ4dܝ٫̤މ༈ྡ of Dr. Pierre Uldry. Each of these pieces is decorated with a large petal-panel
፽ᅃ˖و܆ࠦd1985ϋ̈وf rosette and foliate scrollwork, with the reign mark cutting across the design
on top, like on the present piece; see Helmut Brinker & Albert Lutz, Chinese
ՉቱՇԷމɓ࿁ɽᜦdೌဲ᙮ତπ௰ࠠࠅʘ
ʕ਷ỻക೗๻ኜf༈࿁ᜦˉʂ၂ɽdʱй᙮ Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, cat. nos 1, 2 and 4,
Uldry ʿࡐ౱ɽߵ௹ي᎜ϗᔛdۃ٫࠾࢝ᘽኇ the latter also illustrated on the cover of the original German version of this
˰ Rietberg Museumd̈ஈΝɪdᇜ໮5i catalogue, published 1985.
ܝ٫ྡ༱׵ Harry Garner ᐌɻdChinese
and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels‘dࡐ The remaining two pieces bearing a Xuande mark in champlevé are
౱d1962ϋdྡو12ʿ13dʿࠫ54 55d unquestionably the most important pieces of Chinese cloisonné known to be
Ԩಀ࢝׵׼Ñެಃସ˰ʞɤϋ‘dɽߵ௹ preserved, the pair of massive jars now split between the Uldry collection and
ي᎜dࡐ౱d2014ϋdྡ༱׵܆ࠦʿྡ64 the British Museum, London; for the former, on loan to the Rietberg Museum,
(ྡɓ) f
Zurich, see ibid., cat. no. 5; the latter is illustrated and discussed in Sir Harry
Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1962, pls. 12
and 13 and pp. 54-55, and was included in the exhibition Ming. Fifty Years
that Changed China, The British Museum, London, 2014, illustrated on the
catalogue cover and as ! g. 64 (! g. 1).

On both jars a six-character Xuande reign mark is inscribed on the neck, in a
style very similar to the mark on the present box, in addition to the characters
Yuyongjian zao, ‘Made by the Directorate for Imperial Accouterments’. This
o$ ce, which undoubtedly was responsible also for the production of our box,
was, according to Charles O. Hucker, A Dictionary of O" cial Titles in Imperial
China, Stanford, 1985, p. 595, no. 8213, “one of 12 major Directorates …