Page 28 - Lieber Collection Chinese Art

405

A PAIR OF BLUE AND WHITE ‘FLORAL’ BOTTLE VASES, QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD, each
with a globular body rising from a tapering foot to a long, narrow cylindrical neck, painted in vivid cobalt blue tones with a continuous
meander of flowers blossoming on leafy stems on the body and neck, a reverse-decorated collar at the shoulder of white flowers reserved
on a blue ground, and a band of blue outlined flowers and waves on the mouth, the base with an underglaze blue ‘G’ mark (2)
⌲Ꮴ⛆ 䱿㟞㎼᳊౅㟞㈸䪤䵥⨣̭ᄺ
Height of taller 8½ in., 21.6 cm
$ 6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE ҳ⎽
rd
Sotheby’s London, 3 July 1984, lot 150. ՘᪓㬴ჹ℁1984Ꭱ7ᰵ3ᬒ喑㌕㮌150
೏
Marc Michot, Bruges. 仙ٸe㱉ԛ➦ Marc Michot 喑ጰ९䊘
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York. Ralph M Chait Galleries喑㈽㈱
The origin of the mark on the base remains a matter of conjecture among scholars. It has long been assumed
that it stands for the Latin letter ‘G’ and perhaps the initial of the Westerner who commissioned the group,
while others believed that these vases were copies after Delft wares and that the marks should be read ‘D.’
However, if turned 90 degrees, the character may be interpreted as the Persian letter ye, raising the possibility
that the group was made for a Persian or Mughal Indian client. For further discussion see Daniel Suebsman
and Daniela Antonin, Kangxi Porcelain Treasures of the Kangxi Period, Hetjens Deutsches Keramikmuseum,
Dusseldorf, 2016, cat. no. 148.

406
A PAIR OF BLUE AND WHITE ‘HUNDRED ANTIQUES’ BOTTLE VASES, QING DYNASTY, KANGXI
PERIOD, each ovoid body rising from a splayed foot to an everted mouth, painted in shades of cobalt blue with the ‘Hundred Antiques,’
including archaistic vessels and books, below a ruyi collar encircling the shoulder, with bands of stiff leaves bordering the neck and a
further band of ruyi at the mouth (2)

⌲Ꮴ⛆ 䱿㟞ࢇऑృ⨣̭ᄺ
Height 8 in., 20.3 cm
$ 6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE ҳ⎽
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York. Ralph M Chait Galleries喑㈽㈱
೏

26 SOTHEBY’S