Page 94 - 2019 September 11th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art

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PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED NORTH AMERICAN PRIVATE monochrome copper-red porcelains were perfected but the
COLLECTION large number of discarded sherds at the Jingdezhen kiln
A RARE AND LARGE UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND sites highlights the difficulties experienced by even the most
COPPER-RED DECORATED VASE highly accomplished Imperial potters of that time to achieve
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY satisfactory results. After the Xuande reign, the copper
pigment was therefore almost completely abandoned.
superbly potted, the rounded sides sweeping to a waisted Copper-red glazes were revived on a grand scale under the
neck and everted rim, all raised on a splayed base, the body Kangxi Emperor after two centuries of neglect and famous
finely painted in a vivid cobalt blue and crimson red with two monochrome techniques, langyao and ‘peachbloom’ were
registers of shaped reserves enclosing scholarly scenes of developed during this reign. Despite those technological
idyllic retreats depicting pavilions nestled among trees and feats, it is the combined palette of underglaze blue and
towering rockwork, fishermen poling their sampans through red that constitute what is considered the earliest Imperial
placid waters, sweeping vistas of flowering plants and trees commission by the Kangxi Emperor; a series of scholarly-
amid imposing boulders along a shoreline with mountains in taste landscape-decorated wares made for the Zhonghe
the distance, divided by raised single-line filets, the shoulder Pavillion with cyclical dates corresponding to 1671-3.
applied to either side with a molded butterfly-form handle, The present piece evokes these early Kangxi Imperial
the neck with two stylized shou characters below a chevron wares in the painting style of the landscapes. However, the
band, all against a rich cobalt-blue diaper ground strewn with quality and even application of the fugitive pigment, the
copper-red florets generously rounded interpretation of the form, accentuated
Height 19¼ in., 48.8 cm by raised bands, and the extravagant butterfly-form handles,
place this vase in the early 18th century. The Yongzheng
PROVENANCE
and Qianlong emperors favored works that were visually
Christie’s New York, 6th November 1980, lot 386. stunning but that were also steeped in tradition. Related
vases, painted in the underglaze red and blue palette with
LITERATURE
borders of intricate diaper patterns similar to the present
Anthony du Boulay, Christie’s Pictorial History of Chinese example, include a lantern-form vase decorated with the
Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, p. 207, pl. 4. ‘Sanxing’ sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th May 1982, lot
The present vase is exceptionally rare and exemplifies the 261; also an example decorated with deer and pine trees
mastery of the Jingdezhen craftsmen in both the superlative from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, included in the exhibition
expression of its archaistic hu form to the near flawless Imperial Perfection. Chinese Palace Porcelain of Three Great
application of the complex technique required in the use of Emperors, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 2004,
underglaze red and underglaze blue. The colors emerged cat. no. 27; and another with a Qianlong seal mark and of the
from the kiln each in its most desirable tone, an intense period, decorated with deer in a landscape sold at Christie’s
sapphire blue and a vivid crimson red. The design concept London, 9th December 1985, lot 124. Compare also three
demanded both artistry, as seen in the painterly rendering of large, blue or red-diaper ground decorated vases; the first, of
the atmospheric landscape reserves, and labor intensity in rouleau form, attributed to the Kangxi period and depicting
order to create the rich and intricate diaper ground enlivened the ‘Three Star Gods’, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd
with strewn delicate florets. May 1978, lot 99; another large bottle vase with dragons on
a densely patterned red ground, described as 18th century,
Copper red was notoriously difficult to fire due to the sold in these rooms 17th September, lot 263; and the most
temperamental nature of the copper pigment. J.M. Addis closely related example, a large handled bottle vase with a
in Chinese Porcelain from the Addis Collection. Twenty-two blue diaper ground with red florets identical to the present
Pieces of Chingtechen Porcelain Presented to the British example enclosing shaped panels of landscapes and
Museum, London, 1979, pp 9-10, discusses the experimental dragons, the shoulder with similar shou characters sold in
techniques of the Yuan dynasty and suggests that the our Hong Kong rooms, 24th-25th November 1981, lot 264.
earliest use of copper-oxide was probably as a broad band
forming the background for an incised design. By the $ 100,000-150,000
early Ming dynasty during the Yongle and Xuande reigns

清十八世紀 青花釉裏紅開光山水人物
圖蝶耳尊

來源
紐約佳士得1980年11月6日，編號386
出版
Anthony du Boulay，《Christie’s Pictorial History of
Chinese Ceramics》，牛津，1984年，頁207，圖版4

92 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART