Page 46 - 2019 October Qing Imperial Porcelain Sotheby's Hong Kong

The Wheel of the Law or dharmachakra prominently fills the It is interesting to note that contrary to the footless
main design, perfectly matching the vessel’s circular planes. porcelain and brass prototypes, the present piece displays
Representing one of the Eight Buddhist Emblems (bajixiang), a prominent foot, which clearly shows a shift in functionality
it is here shown with eight spokes, radiating from a hub with of such flasks from fluid container to decorative object for
a large stylised shou character. Between the spokes are the pure display.
attributes of the eight immortals consisting of the double The distinctive circular arrangement of auspicious motifs
gourd of Li Tieguai; the fan of Zhongli Quan; the flower is reminiscent of a pattern seen on the interior of a Yongle
basket of Lan Caihe; the rods of Zhang Guo; the lotus of He period (1403-1424) blue and white basin from the Avery
Xiangu; the sword of Lü Dongbin; the flute of Han Xiang and Brundage collection, see John Carswell, Blue and White:
the castanets of Cao Guojiu.
Chinese Porcelain and Its Impact on the Western World,
This dazzingly festive composition is markedly different David and Alfred Smart Gallery, Chicago, 1985, cat. no. 28,
from the sedate ‘Eight Buddhist Emblems’ pattern of related where the bajixiang are painted within petals around a double
moonflasks, and strongly suggests that the present piece vajra, and encircled with a keyfret band. The basin called
was commissioned for a very specific occasion and person. qingshuiwan or ‘pure water bowl’ symbolising the purification
In fact, in view of the many well-wishing symbols, it would of the heart, is believed to have been used in ritual Buddhist
have made an ideal and luxurious birthday gift. ceremonies.
If the geometrical arrangement dictated by the Dharma Only two examples of this very rare design appear to be
Wheel seems somewhat rigid, it is skilfully counterbalanced known, from the collection of Stephen W. Bushell, illustrated
by the naturalistic depictions of the eight Daoist attributes, in W. Cosmo Monkhouse, A History and Description of
showing different kinds of shading in the leaves and flower Chinese Porcelain, London, New York, Melbourne, 1901, fig.
petals, reminiscent of the early 15th-century blue and white 52; the other sold in our London rooms, 8th July 1975, lot
painting style. 175, and subsequently in these rooms, 25th November 1981,
lot 225.
Early 15th-century blue and white pieces were indeed the
inspiration of the current vessel. In shape, it was modelled For the more commonly known ‘Eight Buddhist Emblems’
after flasks of similarly large size, with an embellished convex moonflasks displaying the emblems within petals around
side and embossed centre, and a flat unglazed back. These a double vajra, see, for example, two pieces included in
bianping or ‘flattened flasks’, designed to hold liquid, were the exhibition catalogues Fu shou kang ning jixiang tu’an
hung vertically against the wall with a chain or strong ropes ciqi tezhan tulu/Good Fortune, Long Life, Health, and
attached to small loops on their shoulder, or laid on their Peace: A Special Exhibition of Porcelains with Auspicious
back, see for a Xuande period (1426-1435) example, Feng Designs, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1995, cat. no.
Xianming, ‘Yongle and Xuande Blue-and-White Porcelain in 11; and Chūgoku sometsuke. Kobaruto burō no sekai/
the Palace Museum’ in Chinese Ceramics. Selected Articles Chinese Porcelain in Underglaze Blue from the Nanjing
from Orientations 1982-2003, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 172- Museum Collection, Sagawa Art Museum, Moriyama, Shiga
186, fig. 19, and fig. 19a, a 13th-century Middle-Eastern Prefecture, 2003, cat. no. 78. Another example illustrated in
brass prototype which was probably meant, with its slightly Michel Beurdeley and Guy Raindre, Qing Porcelain. Famille
concave back, to be attached against the horse’s saddle. Verte, Famille Rose 1644-1912, New York, 1987, pl. 154, from
the collection of Edward T. Chow, was sold in these rooms,
19th May 1981, lot 544.