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PROPERTY OF A NEW YORK PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A RARE BLUE AND WHITE ‘LINGZHI’ LOBED
BOWL, SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG
the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue
Diameter 4⅜ in., 11.2 cm
PROVENANCE
Christie’s Paris, 7th June 2011, lot 299.
Brimming with elegance in both form and design, the
present bowl is a fine example of blue and white porcelain
of the Qianlong period. The Qing emperors’ quest to justify
their right to rule China as a foreign dynasty inspired many
imperial works of art that incorporated important motifs
and subject matters that were already culturally significant
and regularly seen on porcelains since before their rule. The
lingzhi, painted to the six lobed sides of the bowl and to the
interior, already before the Qing dynasty, was considered
the most important of all medicines and a talisman for luck.
More importantly, it is also associated with the virtues of a
ruler; classical texts such as Shangshu Dazhuan, Baihu Tong
and Ruiying Tu all consider the growth of lingzhi an indicator
of good government. Thus, found repeatedly on Qing
imperial wares, it not only represents the emperors’ wish for
longevity, but more importantly, an inspiration for a virtuous
and benevolent rule.
Qianlong mark and period bowls of this type are relatively
rare and very few have been sold at auction. See a closely
related bowl, sold at Bonhams London, 12th November
2015, lot 129. Due to its endearing size and design, this
type continued to be produced during the later reigns:
see three Daoguang mark and period bowls in the Palace
Museum, Beijing (accession nos 故00161931-1/270, 故
00161931-10/270 and 故00161931-2/270), published on
the Museum’s website.
$ 25,000-35,000
清乾隆 青花靈芝紋葵口盌
《大清乾隆年製》款

來源：
巴黎佳士得2011年6月7日，編號299

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