Page 108 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

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A FAMILLE ROSE ‘DREAM OF THE RED
MANSION’ ROULEAU VASE
Qianlong seal mark, circa mid 20th century
The body exquisitely enamelled with a continuous
scene of ladies and Jia Baoyu from the famous
novel ‘Dream of the Red Mansion’ engaged in the
various elegant pastimes of chess, flower picking,
painting, music and catching butterflies, all within
a garden, the shoulder and neck with concentric
bands of scrolling flowers and geometric designs,
upright leaves and key-fret borders.
33.5cm (13 1/4in) high

£3,000 - 4,000
HK$33,000 - 44,000 CNY28,000 - 37,000

二十世紀中葉 粉彩紅樓夢圖棒槌瓶
礬紅「大清乾隆年製」篆書款

The inscribed poem reads:

‘郊外風光欣堪賞
群集一團樂有餘’

This may be translated as:

‘The outskirt scenery is so enjoyable,
gathering in a group there is abundant joy’

The scene depicted on the vase is from the famous
Qing dynasty novel ‘Dream of the Red Mansion’
written by Cao Xueqin (1715 or 1724 – 1763 or
1764). This vernacular novel, with forty major
characters and over five hundred additional ones,
primarily narrates the romantic rivalry between Lin
Daiyu and Xue Baochai for the effeminate Jia Baoyu.
The novel is considered a masterpiece of Chinese
literature.

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