Page 320 - Bonhams Catalog Cohen and Cohen Jan 24, 2023 New York

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A FAMILLE ROSE HOLY WATER STOUP AND
COVER
Qianlong period, circa 1760
the stoup of wall hanging type with flat shaped
backplate painted with a composite hibiscus
spray to one side, the stoup below with nineteen
ribbed lappets painted with simple single flower
sprays and further leaves mirrored in the ribbed
cover, the back plate unglazed and pierced for
suspension.
8 1/4in (21cm) high

$3,000 - 5,000
乾隆時期 約1760年 粉彩花卉紋挂墻聖水缽
Published:
Cohen & Cohen, Tyger Tyger!, Antwerp, 2016,
pp. 64-65, no. 28
出版：
倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Tyger Tyger!》，
安特衛普，2016年，頁64-65，圖版編號28
Stoups are intended to hold small quantities of
holy water for people to dip their fingers in before
making the sign of the cross. They were often
placed at the entrances to churches or holy sites.
The form is known in delftware, faïence and
metalwork but is rare in Chinese export porcelain.
Dias, 1996, suggests that the presence of a cover
means it was probably for private use rather than
in a church where continual daily use negated its
need.
A pair of the same type and decoration as this
can be found in the Museu da Fundação Ricardo
do Espírito Santo Silva, Lisbon. A few examples
are known in blue and white of similar shape,
marked IHS to the back plate, for the Jesuits.

References: Antunes, 2000, p. 55, no. 39, a
pair identical to this example, in the collection of
Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva, also published
Antunes, 1999, p. 91; Dias, 1996, p. 52-3,
discussion of such pieces; Sargent, 2012, p. 310,
a blue and white example in the Peabody Essex
Museum, Salem, MA (AE85322.ab) purchased
from Cohen & Cohen in 1996 and reference
to a second example in the museum (E82867)
purchased from Cohen & Pearce in 1990; a
fragment of a blue and white back plate, now in
the Bangkok National Museum, Thailand, was
excavated in 1984 from San Petro, a Dominican
church destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, at
Ayutthaya, a former Portuguese settlement;
Cohen & Cohen, 2014, no. 22, a further blue and
white example; Sapage, 1992, cat. 24, a blue
and white example of different shape with back-
plate in the form of a crucifix, and inscribed IHS;
Pinto de Matos, 2011, Vol. 3, p. 194, no. 492, a
blue and white cruciform stoup.

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