Page 65 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

Appreciated by the court and literati for its humble origin and his personal enjoyment and collection. According to Wang
association with the symbolism of Daoist paradise, gourd Shixiang in The Charms of the Gourd, Hong Kong, 1993, p.
objects have a long tradition in Chinese history. During the 199, the present style of mark in relief around the spherical
Kangxi period, the technique of gourd moulding flourished body is a very rare type; see another vase with this mark,
with the Emperor’s commissioning of such vessels to be published ibid., pl. 20; and another sold in these rooms, 15th
crafted in the Palace Workshop. Immediately, this folk art November 1989, lot 497.
was transformed into an imperial art form. Even the gourds
Further moulded gourd vessels with a related mark, but on
to be used for such vessels were grown in the Fengze Garden
the base, include an octagonal brushpot, from the Walter
opposite the Forbidden City. It again experienced a revival
Sedgwick collection, sold twice in our London rooms, 2nd July
under the Qianlong Emperor, the products of which were
1968, lot 47, and 24th February 1970, lot 106, and a third time
characteristically light to the touch, pleasing to the eye and
in these rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1806, from the Water,
evocative of nature.
Pine and Stone Retreat collection; and a double-gourd vase
The mark Qianlong shangwan (‘appreciated by the Qianlong of square section, from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat
Emperor’) appears to have been reserved for an exclusive collection, sold in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3010.
group of gourd vessels commissioned by the Emperor for

GEMS OF CHINESE ART — THE SPEELMAN COLLECTION I 63