Page 78 - important chinese art mar 22 2018

Although vases of this type are well known, it is exceptionally yellow. Each color was symbolic of a virtue and a character
rare to " nd examples with this attractive lavender-blue ground. and could be represented in di! erent tones but always as a set
In both form and design, these ritual vases are steeped in of " ve. Buddhist motifs are traditionally colourful due to the
Tibetan Buddhist practice and teachings yet also represent the notion of the ‘rainbow body’; a concept in Tibetan Buddhism
opulent Sino-Tibetan aesthetic developed to suit the Qianlong when everything begins to transform into pure light, which is
emperor’s eclectic taste. A devout follower and patron of the highest state attainable in the realm of samsara before the
Tibetan Buddhism, Qianlong commissioned the building of ‘clear light’ of Nirvana.
numerous halls and shrines dedicated to the recitation of
Qianlong mark and period vases of this form are more
Buddhist scriptures, including the Baoxiang lou (Tower of
commonly found decorated with other color grounds; a yellow-
Precious Forms), which was built around 1771 for his mother,
ground example with the reign mark in iron red is illustrated in
Empress Xiaosheng. These were lavishly furnished with
Lu Minghua, Qingdai Yongzheng-Xuantong guanyao ciqi [Qing
Buddhist sculptures and altar wares which were made to the
dynasty o? cial wares from the Yongzheng to the Xuantong
highest standards, such as the present vase.
reigns], Shanghai, 2014, pl. 3-154; another, published in
The form of this vase is modeled after Tibetan metal Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese
prototypes known as bumpa. During rituals these vessels were Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 112, was sold twice in our
used to hold sacred & owers or peacock feathers as they are Hong Kong rooms, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th
believed to have the power to cleanse the heart of practitioners May 2007, lot 1507; a green-ground vase, in the Shanghai
from evil. An emblem of Amitayus, these vases were also Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Qian Zhenzong, Qingdai
used during longevity rituals whereby the vase was " lled with ciqi shangjian [Appreciation of Qing dynasty porcelain],
water that could be consecrated and transformed into an Shanghai, 1994, pl. 148; and a ruby-ground version, lacking
elixir of immortality by practitioners who evoked the deity’s the drum-shaped section below the mouth, was published
name. Bronze bumpa often appear on contemporary paintings in Treasures of O! cial Porcelain. O! cial Kiln Porcelain of the
and thangkas where they are covered in colorful brocaded Qing Dynasty Collected by Hangzhou Tu Huo Zhai Museum of
cloths, which may have inspired the luxurious bajixiang (‘Eight Antique Ceramics, Hangzhou, 2011, p. 133. Vases of this type
Buddhist Emblem’) and lotus scroll design on this vase. were also produced in other color schemes, such as a gilt-
decorated example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in
The vivid enameling applied to the neck of the present vase
the exhibition The Life of Emperor Qianlong, Museu de Arte de
captures a pastel variation of the ‘Five Principle Colors of
Macau, Macao, 2002, pp. 308 and 309.
Buddhism’ (known as panchavarna in Sanskrit, meaning ‘The
Five Pure Lights’), comprised of blue, white, red, green and

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