Page 99 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

The descent of Xiwangmu on a phoenix,
together with peaches, brings associations
of longevity, and suggests that the vase may
have been commissioned as a birthday gift,
presumably for a high official or the Emperor
himself, as suggested by the yellow robes
of the male figure and the fan painted with
dragons held above him. Another famille
verte vase depicting Xiwangmu at a festive
gathering at the Turquoise Pond, formerly
in the Cleveland Art Museum and later sold
at Christie’s New York, 21 September 2000,
lot 322, is illustrated by S.Little, Realm of
the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China,
Cleveland, 1988, no.17.
The present lot is notable for the exceptional
painterly quality of the enamelling. The scene
is unusually highly detailed, including a poetic
inscription on an a realistic bamboo blind,
which may be translated as ‘On the water’s
reflection, the mountain appears’.
Famille verte vases of this complexity and
quality are extremely rare. Compare another
very fine vase formerly in the T.Y.Chao
Collection sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27
November 2007, lot 1702.

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