Page 176 - Sotheby's NYC September 21 2022 Important Chinese Art

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PROPERTY OF A LADY A RARE PAIR OF COCONUT SHELL much influence on him when he came to the including porcelain, lacquer, rare metals, and
A LARGE AND RARE BRONZE PEWTER-MOUNTED TIBETAN-STYLE throne and his reign is marked by his strong cloisonné. The rich brown tones of the coconut
‘DRAGON’ WALL FOUNTAIN EWERS (DUOMUHU) relations with the Khalkha chieftains and shell veneer on the present forms recalls the
the first Jebtsundamba Hukutu Zaanabazar,
form’s wooden origins. The ewers decoration
QING DYNASTY QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY the highest incarnation of Outer Mongolia. comprises four matching registers of carefully
Height 40 in., 101.6 cm each with a pewter liner and a linked metal Kangxi’s devotion towards Tibetan Buddhism worked veneer depicting auspicious Chinese
chain suspending two hollow spheres (6) was continued by his successors, particularly subject matter of dragons and phoenix,
PROVENANCE Height 20⅛ in., 51.2 cm during the reign of his grandson, Qianlong, phoenix amid flowers, scholars in nature, and
Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980), and The appearance of Tibetan ritual vessels in whose extravagant spending on Tibetan landscapes.
thence by descent. the Qing dynasty began during the reign of religious institutions and ceremonies is well-
the Kangxi Emperor as an expression of his documented. $ 50,000-70,000
$ 8,000-12,000 personal and political commitment to the This pair of ewers is modeled after Tibetan
patronage of Tibetan Buddhism. The Fifth Dalai prototypes and are known as duohumu, 清十八世紀 鑲錫椰殼雕花鳥山
Lama’s visit in 1652 during the reign of Kangxi’s meaning ‘bucket of snow’. Ewers of this type
清 銅海水雲龍紋噴泉 father, Shunzhi (r. 1643-61), marked the first were originally used in lamaist monasteries 水煎茶圖多穆壺一對
important state visit of a Tibetan prelate to for storing butter, milk, or wine. Originally
來源 the Qing court. The Kangxi Emperor’s mother, made of wood with metal bands, the humble
仇焱之 (1910-1980) 收藏，此後家族傳承 also a devotee of Tibetan Buddhism, exerted vessel was reinterpreted in various materials

172 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11074 173