Page 52 - Important Chinese Art Sothebys March 2019

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AN EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE-IMITATION a small number of other vessels produced during the
GILT-SPLASHED ‘BAMBOO’ DOUBLE VASE Qianlong period with the same innovative glaze are known.
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD the vase on a rare Qianlong period conjoined double-gourd
and shell group in the Qing Court Collection is applied with
finely potted, the two adjoining vases naturalistically the same gilt-speckled glaze, as illustrated in The Complete
modeled in the form of bamboo stalks with horizontal nodes, Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Monochrome
one vase slightly taller than the other, the exterior decorated Porcelain, hong Kong, 1999, pl. 246. a similarly glazed
with two lively chilong in high relief, one coiling around the Qianlong mark and period washer enameled in gold and
lower section of one vessel, the other clambering up the silver in imitation of inlaid bronze, from the songzhutang
side and peering over the rim, their long, curling bifurcated Collection, is illustrated in Encompassing Precious Beauty.
tails joining the two vessels, applied overall with a rich olive- The Songzhutang Collection of Imperial Chinese Ceramics,
brown glaze finely mottled with gilt flecking, the base of the hong Kong, 2016, pl. 75. Compare also two Qianlong mark
larger vase with a gilt four-character seal mark and period vessels applied with the same glaze, the first a
height 5 in., 12.6 cm lobed bottle vase formerly in the asldorf Collection, sold
at Christie’s hong Kong, 23rd march 1999, lot 750, and
PROVENANCE a bamboo-form incense burner sold in the same rooms,
Collection of stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 30th april 2001, lot 680. see also the bronze imitation, gilt
and silver-decorated box and cover sold in our hong Kong
Imitations of other materials were a challenge taken up rooms, 6th april 2015, lot 3618.
by the Jingdezhen potters to display the great potential
of their craft, and these wares appear to have particularly $ 50,000-70,000
pleased the Qianlong emperor. the present vase, modeled
after stalks of bamboo and applied with a metallic bronze-
like glaze, demonstrates two ways in which the Jingdezhen 清乾隆 仿銅釉貼螭龍紋竹節形花插
potters rendered imitations of other materials in porcelain.
《乾隆年製》款
來源
史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏

50 SOTHEBY’S Important ChInese art