Page 34 - Sotheby's NYC September 21 2022 Important Chinese Art

211

A RARE CELADON-GLAZED DOUBLE-GOURD the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng
VASE AND COVER and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 69.
the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue (2) For other lidded examples, see one in the Tianminlou
Height overall 10¼ in., 26.2 cm Collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain, The S.
C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong
Kong, 1987, part 1, cat. no. 160; a pair in the Jingguantang
PROVENANCE
Collection, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese
Collection of Fraser Matthew Fell (1928-2020). Ceramics IV, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 37, one
Preserved with its small, original cover, this elegant vessel is of them later sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd November
one of the particularly delightful designs of lidded double- 1996, lot 571 and again 28th October 2002, lot 723; and one
gourd vases that are very rare. Although vessels of double- in the Zhuyuetang Collection, exhibited in A Millennium of
gourd form were developed centuries before the Qianlong Monochromes: From the Great Tang to the High Qing. The
reign (1736-1795) – compare, for example, a Southern Song Baur and the Zhuyuetang Collections, The Baur Foundation,
(1127-1279) guan prototype in the National Palace Museum, Geneva, 2018, cat. no. 53.
Taipei (accession no. zhong-ci-4737) – those with a matching Fraser Matthew Fell (1928-2020) was a prominent
stem-shaped cover, such as the present piece, appear to be Toronto businessman and philanthropist. Among his many
an invention of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). In China, the achievements, he served as Chairman of the World Gold
double-gourd is considered auspicious, its large number of Council and director of the Toronto General and Western
seeds alluding to multiple offspring and a continuation of Hospital Foundation. He was appointed as Member of
the family line. It was also an important symbol of Daoism, the Order of Canada in 1995 for services to health care,
particularly associated with Li Tieguai, one of the Eight education and the arts.
Immortals, who is often depicted with a double gourd at his
waist containing the elixir of immortality. ⊖ $ 80,000-100,000
Extant vessels of this type preserved with a matching cover
are mostly held in museum collections. The National Palace 清乾隆 粉青釉葫蘆蓋瓶
Museum, Taipei, has a group of at least ten lidded double-
gourd vases covered with celadon glaze (accession nos 《大清乾隆年製》款
zhong-ci-334, 1544-1546 and 4606-4611), each bearing a
six-character Qianlong mark and of similar size to the present
piece. Three other closely related vases are in the Palace 來源
Museum, Beijing (accession nos gu-160473-4/32, 6/32 and Fraser Matthew Fell (1928-2020) 收藏
7/32). The Nanjing Museum also has an example, included in

30 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11074 31