Page 77 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

This sumptuous vase is a striking display of the virtuosity of of iron-red feathery scrolls gives the impression of a pink
the craftsmen working during the Qianlong period in both ground when viewed from a distance and it is only upon
its massive size and decoration. It seamlessly combines the closer inspection that the full e! ect can be appreciated.
idealized Chinese landscape with European-inspired curling A sense of exoticism is achieved through the clever
fronds to result in a piece that celebrates both tradition and incorporation of rococo-esque curling fronds in the ruyi
exoticism. Such vessels are marvels of the Qianlong period, lappets bordering the shoulder and interwoven in the lotus
of which only a small group was produced, and represent scroll neck and foot. Furthermore, the gilt-painted rim and
the Qianlong emperor’s personal taste which increasingly foot, together with the archaistic handles enameled in blue,
gravitated towards porcelain designs that were artistically heighten its opulence in their imitation of painted metal-
complex. bodied wares that were also rapidly developing concurrently.
Favored by members of the court and scholar elite as they Although the individual elements of both shape and
provided an escape from the duties and responsibilities decoration are all well-known from this reign, close
of o" cial life, idealized landscape scenes were frequently counterparts are di" cult to Þ nd, since the Qianlong potters
portrayed on a variety of vessels made of precious media were masters at combining their many style elements in
but are rather rare on Qianlong porcelain. Such continuous myriad ways to create ever new designs. Compare a pair
scenes encircled the vessel like a painting on an unrolled of vases, with Qianlong marks and of the period, their wide
hand scroll, and required not only accomplished brushwork cylindrical bodies painted with a related landscape scene
but also particular skill at composition. Mountainous and bordered by a pink ground accented with a darker pink
landscapes featuring pavilions in richly colored vegetation feathery scroll and ß anked by a pair of archaistic ‘C’ shape
among towering rockwork and expanses of water handles, from J.T. Tai Co. Ltd., sold in our Hong Kong rooms,
were applied to porcelain by Tang Ying (1682-1756), 7th October 2010, lot 2130. A vase of this type, but lacking
superintendent of the Jingdezhen imperial factory and a the reign mark and attributed to the Qianlong period, was
gifted painter himself. Scenes marked with his seal, either sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th-30th October 2001, lot
painted by him directly onto the vessel or transferred 856.
there from his ink paintings by professional porcelain
It is rare to Þ nd Qianlong mark and period vases of such
decorators, have survived from the early Qianlong period;
large size and only a small number appear to have been
see, for example, Peter Y.K. Lam, ‘Tang Ying (1682-1756).
published, all with elaborate archaistic handles and di! erent
The Imperial Factory Superintendent at Jingdezhen’,
decoration; a coral-ground version enclosing Þ gural panels
Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society vol. 63, 1998-9,
on the body and neck, in the Palace of Fontainebleau,
pp 65-82, Þ gs 8 and 9, where a landscape painting by Tang
is illustrated in situ in Le Musée chinois de l’impératrice
Ying is compared to a porcelain vase with similar decoration
Eugénie, Paris, 1986, p. 24; another, also painted with Þ gural
from the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat, sold in these
panels against a turquoise ground, was sold at Christie’s
rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 52.
New York, 14th September 2017, lot 748; and a third, but
With its combination of dramatic mountain scenery with lacking the galleried lip and of slightly larger size, decorated
European-inspired scrollwork on a sgra! ato-simulated with ß owers on a yellow ground and archaistic dragon
ground, this vase represents a somewhat later stage of handles, from the collection of Alberto Pasini, was sold in our
porcelain decoration in the Qianlong reign.The rich web Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2015, lot 3608.

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