Page 127 - Jie Rui Tang Kangxi porcelain mar 2018

387 A FAMILLE-VERTE ⌲Ꮴ⛆ ρᒖⅡ⌦̰䏺ృ᷿ỹ⨣
‘ROMANCE OF THE
THREE KINGDOMS’
ROULEAU VASE

Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period
ҳ⎽
the cylindrical body richly painted with a ⧍侚豤㺢嫲倴 Robert Simpson Company Ltd
continuous battle scene recognizable as 䬝颪㢵⧍㢵1967䎃10剢18傈管贫323
‘Guan Yu Drowns the Seven Armies’, Guan 秣秉⢕㡦䖤2006䎃9剢19傈管贫317
Yu and his army depicted safely positioned Marchant⧍侚2007䎃
on high ground, ! ercely baring down on
Cao Cao’s armies adrift on rafts borne on
ᆂ㻪
turbulent river water attempting to fend o# the
շRecent Acquisitionsո
attack, a central warrior, mortally wounded
S Marchant Son 
clutching the lance still held by a soldier of the ⧍侚2007䎃管贫51
vanquishing force above, the scene framed by
jagged rocks and trees, the shoulder with iron-
red " owerheads alternating with fruit-shaped
cartouches enclosing bamboo all against a
green diaper ground, the neck with a tranquil
landscape featuring a thatch-roofed hut, the
rim with a green-enameled keyfret band, coll.
no. 1605.
Height 18½ in., 47 cm
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London at The Robert Simpson
Company, Ltd., Toronto, 18th October 1967,
lot 323.
Christie’s New York, 19th September 2006,
lot 317.
Marchant, London, 2007.
EXHIBITED
Recent Acquisitions, S. Marchant & Son.,
London, 2007, cat. no. 51.
The dramatic narrative that unfolds around
the cylindrical form of the present vase
celebrates the heroism and strategic brilliance
of the Eastern Han dynasty general Guan Yu.
The episode depicted dramatizes an event
that occurred at the Battle of Fancheng. In
the famous 14th century historical novel, The
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu,
anticipating the rainy season, dams the Han
River, and times the opening of the " ood gates
to destroy the enemy. The waters unleashed
careen down the river way eventually spilling
over the banks and " ooding the plains below
drowning thousands of enemy troops. By
controlling the waters, Guan Yu secured not
only an important military victory but also
a reputation as one of the China’s greatest
generals in history and folklore.
$ 20,000-30,000

KANGXI: THE JIE RUI TANG COLLECTION 125