Page 336 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

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A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE ‘HUNDRED DEER’ HU-FORM VASES
19TH CENTURY
Each vase is decorated with the ‘hundred deer’ motif, depicting a continuous Longevity, Shoulao, while the inclusion of peaches and lingzhi fungus in the
scene of deer frolicking in grassy meadows and beside a river, all within a decoration is further symbolic of longevity. As such, the subject-matter on the
rocky, mountainous landscape with pine trees, the shoulder fanked by a pair present vase alludes to a multitude of auspicious connotations.
of coral-red, dragon-scroll handles. The base of each is inscribed with an
apocryphal Qianlong seal mark. The theme of ‘hundred deer’ was adopted on porcelains in the middle Ming
period, and can be seen on a Wanli period (1573-1620) wucai jar in the Musée
17º in. (43.8 cm.) high (2) Guimet, Paris (illustrated in The World’s Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics
Vol. 7, Musée Guimet, Paris, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1981, no. 26) and on the pair
$60,000-80,000
of large blue and white Wanli jars given to Queen Christina of Sweden by
the Portuguese Ambassador (see The World’s Great Collections. Oriental
PROVENANCE Ceramics Vol. 8, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Kodansha,
Hartman Galleries, November 1968. Tokyo, 1982, fg. 247).
EXHIBITED Vases of this form and decoration enjoyed popularity during the reign of the
Evanston, Illinois, The Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Northwestern Qianlong emperor (1736-1795), and continued to remain popular through the
University, Fall 1982.
19th century and into the Guangxu period (1875-1908). A vase similar to the
present pair was sold at Christie’s New York, 14-15 September 2017, lot 1272;
The ‘hundred deer’ motif was very popular as the landscape depicted contains
another similar pair was sold at Christie’s London, 14 May 2013, lot 274; and
important symbolic references. The subject of deer has a long history in
two other related examples were sold at Christie’s London, 16 April 2014, lots
Chinese art as it refers to the rebus where the Chinese word for ‘deer’ is
42 and 43.
a homophone for ‘emolument’ or ‘civil service salary’; the ‘hundred deer’
therefore represent the ultimate success, a career in government service in 清十九世紀 粉彩百鹿尊一對
Imperial China. The deer is also associated with Daoism and the Star God of

(detail)