Page 8 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

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PROPERTY FROM THE STUART AND BARBARA HILBERT 清雍正 闘彩松鼠葡萄紋小罐
COLLECTION
《大清雍正年製》款
A RARE DOUCAI ‘SQUIRRELS AND GRAPES’ JAR,
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG
來源：
the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within
a double circle Geo E. McCague (1858-1926) 收藏，得於1903年
Diameter 3⅜ in., 8.6 cm 辛辛那提私人收藏

PROVENANCE
Collection of Geo E. McCague (1858-1926), acquired in 1903.
Cincinnati Private Collection.
This exquisite doucai jar, adorned with a captivating
depiction of fruiting vine branches and lively squirrels,
is a rare and remarkable example of Yongzheng-period
porcelain. In the Tang dynasty, grapes were considered
an auspicious fruit and when paired with mythical beasts,
manifested as the renowned pattern seen on bronze
mirrors. While wild grapes have been native to China since
ancient times, the grape motifs were largely introduced
during the Han dynasty, originating from the Western
regions along the Mediterranean coast.
However, the combination of squirrels and grapes did not
appear in Chinese painting until the late Yuan or early Ming
dynasty, and grew in popularity from the sixteenth century.
The symbolism of grapes with multiple seeds resonates
fittingly with the connotation of squirrels, which symbolize
the wish for ceaseless generations of sons and grandsons,
owing to the highly reproductive power of squirrels and the
large clusters of grapes on vines.
The grapevine motif decorating the present jar appears to
have been inspired by Ming dynasty, Xuande period (1425-
35) prototypes; such as one in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Palace Museum, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze
Red (I), Shanghai, 2002, pl. 142; Compare also a Chenghua
cup painted with grapevine and bitter melon in the doucai
palette included in the Special Exhibition of Ch’eng-hua
Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003,
cat. no. 181.
Doucai jars of this charming form and superbly painted
with fruiting vine branches and squirrels are extremely
rare. Only one other example appears to be known, sold
in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1610.
Compare Yongzheng mark and period doucai double-
gourd vases, of miniature size but decorated in a more
minimalist manner with a single long vine and a squirrel
eating grapes at the lower edge, such as one in the
National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. 故瓷
011283), published on the Museum’s website; another
from the H.R.N. Norton Collection, sold twice in our
London rooms, 5th November 1963, lot 211 and 2nd-3rd
December 1974, lot 528, and again in our Hong Kong
rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 465.
$ 40,000-60,000

12 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11410 13