Page 69 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

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WORKS OF ART SOLD TO BENEFIT THE
BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE
‘DRAGON’ VASE
QING DYNASTY, 18TH / EARLY 19TH
CENTURY
of yuhuchun form, rising from a splayed foot to
a pear-shaped body and a ß ared rim, painted
in vibrant cobalt blue tones with two animated
four-clawed dragons striding amidst cloud
scrolls in pursuit of a ‘ß aming pearl’ above a
tumultuous sea, the foot with Þ ve soaring bats
(wufu) between blue lines
Height 17⅞ in., 45.4 cm
PROVENANCE
Collection of Courtland Field Bishop (1870-
1935).
Donated to the Berkshire Museum, PittsÞ eld,
Massachusetts in 1922.
EXHIBITED
Berkshire Museum, PittsÞ eld, MA.
The present yuhuchun ping is notable for its
grand size, standing signiÞ cantly taller than
other vases of this type. It is also remarkable for
its decoration. In the 18th and 19th centuries,
yuhuchun vases were either produced with a
monochrome glaze or painted in underglaze
blue, with the latter almost exclusively painted
with either the standard ‘bamboo and plantain’
garden or with allover ß oral patterns. The
exception is a Qianlong seal mark and period
blue and white ‘dragon’ yuhuchun sold at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 15th May 1990, lot
151. On the Christie’s example, which is of
standard size, the dragons stride across a Þ eld
of scrolling lotus, all between typical border
motifs comprised of plantain leaves, classic
scroll, pendent ruyi heads, lappets, and lotus
at the neck and foot. On the present vase, the
tonality of the cobalt blue and the treatment of
the dragons, particularly their bushy manes and
elongated toes and claws, compare favorably
to other blue and white vases of the late 18th
to early 19th centuries, including a Jiaqing
seal mark and period bottle vase sold in these
rooms, 13th September 2017, lot 22, and a pair
of unmarked blue and white ‘dragon’ vases
attributed to the Qianlong / Jiaqing period sold
at Christie’s New York, 13th-14th September
2012, lot 1461.
$ 30,000-50,000
㶭⋩ℓġİġ⋩ḅᶾ䲨⇅ġġġ曺剙呤漵㔁
⫸⚾⣏䌱⢢㗍䒞
Ը๕
CourtlandġFieldġBishopġĩ1870Į1935Īġ㓞啷
1922⸜㋸冯ỗ⃳悉⌂䈑棐炻䙖勐厚䇦⽟炻
湣䚩
࢝ᚎ
ỗ⃳悉⌂䈑棐炻䙖勐厚䇦⽟炻湣䚩

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