Page 103 - Sothebys HK Dragon Emperor April 2024

The porcelain workshops at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Although eight other Xuande-marked brush washers are
province experimented like never before, with new body known of the same design as the present one, with dragons
materials, new glaze and enamel colours, new shapes, in quatrefoil panels on the exterior, only two of them are
and new techniques and styles of decoration. When the remaining in private hands: four such pieces are in the
Xuande Emperor took over, he inherited a manufactory of Palace Museum, Taipei, as listed in the inventory of the
unprecedented excellence. All that was left to do for the museum’s holdings, Gugong ciqi lu [Record of porcelains
artisans during his time was fine-tuning. Shapes, sizes and from the Old Palace], part ii, vol. 1, Taipei, 1965, pp. 105f.,
painted designs were fractionally modified to achieve even ranging in size from 15.9 to 18.5 cm, of which two are
greater perfection, but not fundamentally changed. illustrated in A Panorama of Ceramics in the Collection of the
An important part of the exquisite products of the Yongle Palace Museum. Hsüan-te Ware I, Taipei, 2000, nos 30 and
reign had been destined to be sent abroad as diplomatic 31. One example, of exceptionally large size but damaged, is
gifts. The Xuande Emperor put less emphasis on such in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang,
diplomatic efforts than his grandfather and gradually ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection
abandoned production for export. Although he sent the of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum],
eunuch, Admiral Zheng Ho (1371-1433/5) on one more Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, pl. 101; and a washer of similar size as
embassy to the Middle East and East Africa, he appears to the present piece is in the Sir Percival David Collection in the
have basically stopped the distribution of imperial works British Museum, London, published in Stacey Pierson, Blue
of art to foreign rulers. Instead, he re-directed the kilns’ and White for China. Porcelain Treasures in the Percival David
output exclusively towards the court. He universalized the Collection, London, 2004, pl. 20.
practise, tentatively introduced by the Yongle Emperor, of Only two washers of this type have ever appeared at auction,
having imperial works inscribed with the title of the present one from the collection of T. Endo, illustrated in Sotheby’s
reign. Imperial reign marks on porcelain, exceedingly rare in Hong Kong, Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, pl. 57,
the Yongle period, became the rule in the Xuande reign, and and in Sotheby’s Thirty Years in Hong Kong, op.cit., pl. 221,
equally graced lacquer wares, cloisonné pieces, bronzes, was sold three times in these rooms, 15th November 1988,
and gilt-bronze Buddhist sculptures. Xuande imperial lot 117, 29th April 1997, lot 405, and 23rd October 2005, lot
wares, which display the absolute peak of craftsmanship in 339; another at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th April 1996, lot 49.
whatever medium, were not available outside the court. A washer with pairs of phoenix in the centre and in
This complete takeover of the finest works of art by the quatrefoils on the exterior, a design of which no example
emperor is paralleled by the increased use of the five-clawed appears to be extant, can be seen in the hand scroll Gu wan
dragon motif as the most visible expression of imperial tu in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum,
privilege, on bowls and dishes, stem bowls, ewers, cricket which is dated in accordance with 1728 and depicts pieces
cages and other wares. The way the dragons are depicted on in the imperial collection during the Yongzheng reign (1723-
this washer, in both descending and ascending attitude, has 1735)(fig. 3); see Regina Krahl, ‘The Yongzheng Emperor
become the classic style of rendering dragons, a style that and the Qing Court Collection’, Transactions of the Oriental
was retained until the end of the imperial era. Ceramic Society, vol. 80, 2015-16, p. 129, fig. 8c.
The exquisite mallow shape of this washer can ultimately be Compare also a Xuande-marked brushwasher painted
traced to Southern Song (1127-1279) guan (‘official’) wares with a similar dragon in the centre, but with unbordered
with crackled jade-green glazes, one of the Song wares the dragon roundels on the exterior, reconstructed from
Xuande Emperor is known to have greatly admired for their shards recovered from the imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen,
elegant style, see a piece included in the exhibition Gui si illustrated in Mingdai Xuande yuyao ciqi. Jingdezhen yuyao
chenxing. Qing gong chuanshi 12 zhi 14 shiji qingci tezhan/ yizhi chutu yu Gugong Bowuyuan cang chuanshi ciqi duibi/
Precious as the Morning Star. 12th-14th Century Celadons Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming
in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Taipei, 2016, Dynasty. A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln
cat. no. II-30 (fig. 2). These, however, are eight-lobed and Site at Jingdezhen and the Imperial Collection of the Palace
smaller. Another major difference is a particularly beautiful Museum, Beijing, 2015, no. 44, together with an unmarked
detail introduced on the Ming examples, namely that the foot washer with dragon and phoenix and a Xuande-marked
is carefully shaped to match the fluting of the sides. washer with a pair of phoenix, both in the Palace Museum,
The basic design of this washer was developed in the Yongle Beijing, nos 42 and 43.
reign. For an unmarked blue-and-white example attributed The required exceptional quality that characterizes all
to the Yongle period, with dragon roundels on the outside, Xuande works of art could only be achieved through
see a piece in the Capital Museum, Beijing, published in outstanding efforts from the craftsmen involved and
Shoudu Bowuguan cang ci xuan [Selection of porcelains from engendered great quantities of failures. The expenses
the Capital Museum], Beijing, 1991, pl. 90; another, with a incurred could not be justified for long. What is preserved
dragon painted also on the base, echoing the one on the from the periods following the Xuande reign therefore
inside, was sold twice in these rooms, 14th November 1989, manifests a distinct change of direction.
lot 18, and 5th November 1997, lot 1351, and is illustrated
in Sotheby’s Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003,
pl. 220.

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