Page 189 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

670 670

A CAFE-AU-LAIT GROUND FAMILLE-VERTE
DISH
QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD

well painted to the center, with an aubergine-enameled slender
arching prunus tree emerging from rockwork, issuing blooms
of varied green tones, the rim with four delicate oral sprays
alternating with uttering butter ies, all against a light brown
ground, the underside with two leafy bamboo stalks, the base
painted in underglaze blue with a hare within two concentric
rings and with a wheel-engraved inventory mark N=162 I
Diameter 8⅛ in., 20.6 cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of
Poland (1670 - 1733).
The inventory marks of the famous Dresden Porcelain
Collection are among the earliest in the West. The incised mark
on the present dish is from the rst inventory, Inventarium
über das Palais zu Alt-Dresden Anno 1721. The dish is number
162 with the capital I signifying Grün Chinesisch Porcelain for
famille-verte.

$ 5,000-7,000

1670 1733

671

A CORAL-GROUND GRISAILLE-PAINTED
ROULEAU VASE
QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD

the cylindrical body with two rectangular panels of grisaille-
painted landscapes, one depicting an elderly sage carrying
a basket of lingzhi, the other showing a scholar leaning out
over the water from a rustic hut, divided by prunus, orchid,
chrysanthemum and bamboo enclosed within four smaller
shaped cartouches, the neck with two rectangular reserves
detailing further auspicious emblems, a three-legged toad,
coral ‘antiques’ and a recumbent deer, all reserved on a
delicately mottled, rich orange-red ground
Height 18¼ in., 46.4 cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of Yvonne Costello Gould (1918-2016), Montreal,
Canada.
The prunus, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo are
popularly known as the ‘Four Gentlemen,’ for each is said to
embody the noble qualities of the ideal Confucian gentleman-
scholar and together they are associated with the four
seasons.

$ 8,000-12,000

Yvonne Costello Gould 1918 2016

671

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 187