Page 11 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

Outstanding for its harmoniously rounded form and Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of
meticulously detailed painting, the present alms bowl is Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain
exceptionally rare and belongs to a small group of imperial with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 125.
Qianlong period porcelains that showcase the Qianlong
Emperor’s religious beliefs. Alms bowls hold profound The reference to these early wares is further highlighted
significance in Buddhist practice, embodying the austere on the present piece in the deliberate ‘heaping and piling’
lifestyle of a monk, in which it was the only object one could of the cobalt to imitate their predecessor’s mottled
have in one’s possession according to Buddhist law. The effect. Meticulously executed in the finest cobalt blue,
Qianlong Emperor, a devout Buddhist, orchestrated the the composition of floral blooms and foliate scrolls is
creation of numerous Buddhist implements and artworks perfectly balanced showcasing the craftsman’s thorough
during his reign. While examples of alms bowls crafted from understanding of the importance of spacing in successfully
jade, cloisonné enamel, and lacquer abound from this era, creating a rich yet not overly crowded design. The highest
porcelain variations are relatively rare. standard of craftsmanship reveals the Emperor’s dedicated
pursuit of Buddhist practices.
According to the Archives (Qinggong zaobanchu huojidang
[Archival records from the Qing imperial household No other alms bowl with a Qianlong mark appears to have
department workshop]), in the third year of the Qianlong been published. Compare closely related Qianlong period
period (corresponding to 1738), the Emperor ordered a alms bowls, decorated with floral blooms and foliate scrolls
Xuande-style blue and white alms bowl to be copied and but with a tapered form; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
reproduced. During the Qianlong Emperor, early porcelains illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
celebrated for their unique form and superb craftsmanship Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed
such as early-Ming blue and white wares were consciously Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 142; another sold in these
emulated in the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, demonstrating rooms, 12th June 1984, lot 305; and a third sold at Christie’s
the Qing craftsmen’s ability to adapt classic designs into a New York, 24th March 2011, lot 1678. For a similar Qianlong
contemporary aesthetic. See a closely related Xuande period period alms bowl but with a cover and decorated with floral
prototype, similarly with a flat base but slightly larger in size, scrolls on both the exterior and interior, see one sold in our
previously in the Qing Court Collection, now in the Palace Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2015, lot 3111.

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