Page 18 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art
P. 18

This moonflask has been masterfully executed to   both blessings and longevity’). This symbolism, rooted in
                                                                                                                                            resemble the celebrated blue and white wares of the early   Chinese culture, makes the moonflask particularly fitting as
                                                                                                                                            15th century through the use of the ‘heaped and piled’   a meaningful gift, especially on occasions such as birthdays.
                                                                                                                                            technique to render the designs. With a keen attention to
                                                                                                                                            detail, the craftsman successfully replicated the uneven   Qianlong mark and period moonflasks of this type are held in
                                                                                                                                            blue tones characteristic of the early Ming period. The   important museums and private collections worldwide; see
                                                                                                                                            technique, achieved through meticulous manipulation of   one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no.
                                                                                                                                            cobalt pigment, mirrors the natural variations resulting   中瓷003549N000000000); another in the Nanjing Museum,
                                                                                                                                            from the firing process. Its flattened globular form, tall   illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing
                                                                                                                                            and gently waisted neck, and two handles draw inspiration   Dynasty, Shanghai, 2004, cat. no. 220; see also one in
                                                                                                                                            from early Ming prototypes. For example, see a Yongle   Newfields (formerly known as the Indianapolis Museum
                                                                                                                                            reign moonflask adorned with flower sprays, formerly   of Art), Indianapolis, included in the Museum’s exhibition
                                                                                                                                            in the collection of the Ottoman Sultans and now in the   Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese
                                                                                                                                            Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Regina   Art, Indianapolis, 1983, cat. no. 116; and a fourth, included
                                                                                                                                            Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum,   in the exhibition Ch’ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong
                                                                                                                                            Istanbul, vol. 2, London, 1986, pl. 613.  Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
                                                                                                                                                                                      Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 66. Further examples include one
                                                                                                                                            The design of peaches and bats, with its highly auspicious   from the collection of R.I.C. Herridge, sold in our Hong Kong
                                                                                                                                            message, appears to have originated in the Yongzheng   rooms, 29th November 1978, lot 235; another sold in the
                                                                                                                                            reign and gained popularity during the Qianlong period. The   same rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 3725;  and a third, sold in
                                                                                                                                            combination of the bat (fu) and peach (shoutao) creates   our London rooms. 9th November 2011, lot 201.
                                                                                                                                            the auspicious pun fushou shuangquan (‘May you have



















































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