Page 360 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

PROPERTY OF THE JOHNSTON FAMILY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

1654
A UNUSUAL FAMILLE ROSE ‘HUNDRED DEER’ HU-FORM VASE

GUANGXU SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN IRON-RED AND OF THE PERIOD (1875-1908)

The vase of pear shape is fnely decorated with a continuous scene of the ‘hundred deer’ motif
depicting a gathering of bucks and does amidst various trees including pine and peach, in a
landscape of blue-green rocks and mountains, and a river fed by a waterfall on one side. The
neck is fanked by a pair of handles in the form of deer heads with black antlers.
12¬ in. (32.4 cm.) high
$40,000-60,000

PROVENANCE

Major Felix J. Streyckmans Collection, acquired during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1931-1932,
and thence by descent within the family.

The ‘hundred deer’ motif was very popular, as the landscape depicted contains important symbolic
references. The subject of deer has a long history in Chinese art, as it refers to the rebus where the
Chinese word for ‘deer’ is a homophone for ‘emolument’ or ‘civil service salary’. The ‘hundred deer’ motif
therefore represents the ultimate success, a career in government service in Imperial China.
A Qianlong-marked vase of larger size (45 cm.) in the Beijing Palace Museum, is illustrated in The
Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel
Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 85. Other examples include a pair in
the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hu,
Shanghai, 1989, pl. 67; one in the Nanjing Museum, included in the joint exhibition with The Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Qing Imperial Porcelain, 1995, no. 86; and another from the Grandidier
Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World’s Great Collections,
Tokyo, 1981, vol. 7, pl. 190.
清光緒 粉彩百鹿尊 礬紅六字款

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