Page 50 - Important Chinese Art Sothebys March 2019

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A VERY RARE MOLDED GOLD-IMITATION Bowls of this type and with their matching covers are rare,
‘BIRTHDAY’ BOWL AND COVER although a closely related example but lacking the cover,
KANGXI SEAL MARK AND PERIOD from the mottahedeh Collection, was sold in these rooms,
19th october 2000, lot 141; and another from the rende Zhai
the deep rounded sides molded in relief with a horizontal Collection was sold at Christie’s new York, 16th september
band of stylized characters interspersed with four bats 2011, lot 1632. a Kangxi mark and period dish carved with
clasping peach sprays, the domed cover similarly decorated this design, in the Capital museum, Beijing, is illustrated in
and surmounted by a pierced bird-form finial, all applied with The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 14, shanghai,
a burnished gold glaze, the interiors and base glazed white, 1999, pl. 121.
the base with an archaistic six-character mark in underglaze the mark on this bowl is very unusual, and appears only
blue within a double circle (2) on a rare group of vessels covered in gold glaze. Given the
Diameter 6½ in., 16.5 cm
superb quality of these wares and the ‘longevity’ themes
that they depict, they were probably all commissioned on
PROVENANCE
the occasion of the emperor’s 60th or 70th birthday. a cup
Collection of stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). and a dish with this mark, decorated with shou characters in
this bowl and cover are a rare example of the technical blue enamel against a gold ground, in the palace museum,
advances achieved by craftsmen working at the imperial Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong: Qing
kilns at Jingdezhen during the Kangxi reign. the set Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, hong Kong,
displays a renewed interest in archaism, as evidenced in 1989, pls 73 and 74.
its decoration, glaze and unusual seal script mark, and
can be considered one of the earliest successful attempts $ 80,000-120,000
to simulate metal objects at Jingdezhen. the brilliant and
slightly opalescent glaze on this piece simulates gold, while 清康熙 金釉浮雕福壽紋蓋盌
the bird-shaped finial on the cover and the geometric band
of characters on the body echo motifs of the Chinese Bronze 《大清康熙年製》款
age.
來源
史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏

48 SOTHEBY’S Important ChInese art