Page 30 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty period, the flute was usually made
of bamboo, but porcelain flutes were particularly prized as the smoothness
of the porcelain interior gave a particularly pure note, and the material
was less sensitive to changes in humidity. In Blanc de Chine: The Porcelain
of Tehua in Fukien, London, 1969, P.J.Donnelly notes that by the middle of
the 17th century, the production of these flutes at Dehua was sufficient to
merit a separate section in the Min hsiao-chi as follows:
‘Dehua porcelain flutes. There are porcelain flutes, both vertical and
transverse, from Dehua, lustrous white in colour and of fine quality but
only one or two hundred are in tune. Of those that are, however, the
sound is sad but clear, carrying far better than the bamboo [flute].’
Two blanc-de-Chine flutes are illustrated by P.J.Donnelly, ibid., pl. 68A,
and another incised with a phoenix and the characters ming feng is
illustrated by J.Ayers, Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, New
York, 2002, no.23. Compare another phoenix flute from the Collection
of Peter and Nancy Thompson, sold at Sotheby’s London, 7 November,
2012, lot 36.

The Property of a Gentleman 紳士藏品

19
A blanc-de-chine flute
Qing Dynasty
The cylindrical body smoothly formed as a flute with delicate moulding
and incisions to imitate natural bamboo nodes, a small triangular notch
cut from the top end above two moulded four-clawed dragons encircling
a flaming pearl, the shaft with one oval hole at the back, five oval holes
in a row on the front and two further oval holes at the lower end, all
covered in a even creamy glaze.
60.8cm (24in) long
£10,000 - 15,000
HK$120,000 - 180,000 CNY94,000 - 140,000
清 德化白瓷笛子

26 | Bonhams