Page 36 - Bonhams Hong Kong The Skinner Moon Flasks

Imposing blue and white bajixiang moonflasks, Qianlong seal marks
and of the period, such as the present lot, are rare and it is exceptional imposing moonflasks were also inspired by early Ming dynasty blue
to find a surviving pair.
Single moonflasks of this impressive size can be found in important
museum collections; see Porcelain of the National Palace Museum:
Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, vol.II, Hong Kong, 1968,
pp.50-51, pls.15 and 15a-c (measuring 49.3cm high); another from
the Qing Court collection is illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics
Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: The Chinaware
Volume I, Shenyang, 2007, pl.35 (measuring 49.5cm high); a further
moonflask in the Nanjing Museum, is illustrated in Treasures in the
Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty,
Shanghai, 2003, p.295 (measuring 50cm high); another similar
moonflask is illustrated in Studies of the Collections of the National
Museum of China, Shanghai, 2007, pl.83 (measuring 49.2cm high);
a further example is published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu
Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl.949 (measuring 49.2cm high); and another
is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV Qing
Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl.75 (measuring 49.6cm high).
Similar moonflasks were also produced in a smaller size measuring
approximately 34.5cm high, such as the one in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated by N.Berliner, The Emperor’s Private Paradise:
Treasures from the Forbidden City, New Haven, 2010, pl.66; and see
also a further large moonflask, Qianlong seal mark and period, with
similar design but with the motifs on the front and reverse of the body
carved and under a celadon glaze, also around the rims, illustrated in
The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV Qing Dynasty,
Hong Kong, 1995, pl.87 (measuring 48cm high).
The shape of the moonflasks is inspired by early Ming dynasty blue
and white flasks, which in turn were inspired by early Islamic metal
prototypes; see J.A.Pope, ‘An Early Ming Porcelain in Muslim Style’,
in R.Ettinghausen, ed., Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst: Festschrift
Image courtesy of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
34 | BONHAMS
für Ernst Kühnel, Berlin, 1959, pp.357-375. In decoration these
and white wares, as exemplified in a blue and white basin, Yongle,
from the Avery Brundage collection in the Asian Art Museum of
San Francisco, painted to the interior with a similar design of eight
petals enclosing the Buddhist Emblems radiating from a central
medallion enclosing a double-vajra. In the Qianlong moonflask, the
master potters interpreted the double-vajra to depict a flowerhead
and altered the order of the Emblems; see He Li, Chinese Ceramics,
San Francisco, 1996, pl.398; and see also the interpretation of the
central boss and overall form, related to the Yongle period blue and
white flasks, which were flattened on one side, illustrated in The
Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and
White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Shanghai, 2010, pls.34-37.
More directly, the Qianlong period moonflasks were produced after
Yongzheng period ones, such as the one in the Qing Court collection,
in the Palace Museum, Beijing (museum no.GU00156642).
The moonflasks would have graced one of the Imperial halls,
conveying a threefold message: in taking its inspiration from early
Ming dynasty vessels - the status of the Qing dynasty and its Mandate
of Heaven to rule in continuation of the Ming dynasty; in depicting the
bajixiang - the Buddhist devoutness of the emperor and auspicious
wishes symbolised by the Emblems; and in their imposing size, the
skill of the master potters to successfully produce such large vessels
in porcelain and therefore the prosperity and prowess achieved at the
height of the Qianlong reign.
Only one other pair of blue and white bajixiang moonflasks, Qianlong
seal marks and of the period, appears to have been sold at auction,
see Sotheby’s London, 15 May 2013, lot 222; a single similar
moonflask, Qianlong seal mark and period, was sold at Sotheby’s
Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 3123; and another single similar
moonflask, Qianlong seal mark and period, was sold at Christie’s
Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 2826.
Image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing