Page 130 - Fine Chinese Art Christies London May 2018

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE UK COLLECTION
129
A PAIR OF UNUSUAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘SCHOLAR AND PINE’ The theme of scholars tranquilly seated in landscape enjoying nature was
WINE CUPS a prevalent one in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, while the choice
KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARKS IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF of pine trees to provide a context and frame for the scholar was popular in
THE PERIOD (1662-1722) Chinese art from at least the Southern Song dynasty, when it was used to
Each thinly potted cup is decorated to the exterior with two scholars seated great efect by court painters such as Ma Yuan (馬遠 c. 1160–65 – 1225) and
below pine trees next to a pond. Each is decorated to the centre of the interior his son Ma Lin (馬麟 c. 1180 – after 1256). In the turbulent years of the late
with a medallion depicting a further scholar and pine. Ming and early Qing period the notion of retreat and the bucolic idyll was one
2¡ in. (6 cm) diam.
which found considerable favour amongst scholar oficials who dreamed of
(2) retiring from ofice and enjoying a simple life in which they could write, paint,
compose poetry and indulge in drinking wine from cups like the current pair.
£15,000-25,000 $22,000-35,000
€18,000-29,000
清康熙 青花松下高士圖小盃一對 六字楷書款
PROVENANCE 來源:英國私人珍藏
From a private collection in the UK.

This pair of cups is delicately potted and has an unusually graceful shape.
The cups are of upturned bell shape with narrow foot and fared mouth rim.
The shape is known as yangzhong bei (upright bell-shaped cup) in Chinese
and is associated with the Jiajing reign (1522-1566) of the Ming dynasty. The
foot is signifcantly narrower in proportion to the height and mouth rim than
the better-known Kangxi ‘month cups’. The lotus petals around the base
of the cups, which are outlined in fne deep blue and flled with two distinct
blue washes, are also unusual. Interestingly, a Jiajing marked cup of the
same shape with similar lotus petal band and with a roundel on the interior
comparable to those on the current pair of cups, was sold by Christie’s New
York on 21 September 2000, lot 332. The exterior of the Jiajing marked cup
was also decorated with scholars seated by a river under a pine tree. The
pine tree on the Jiajing cup even curves over the seated fgure in a similar
way to those on the current cups.

(marks)

128 Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price – see Section D of our Conditions of Sale at the back of this Catalogue