Page 166 - Bonhams Hong K June 2016

LITERATI CLOUDS: A PROPITIOUS OFFERING
An exceptionally rare pair of Imperial doucai waterpots, Yongzheng period, Qing dynasty.
Geng Dongsheng
In the traditional Chinese scholar’s studio, apart from the well-known
‘Four Treasures of the Study’ which include the brush, ink, paper
and inkstone, there are also many other objects, such as waterpots,
brushwashers, seals, seal paste boxes, brushpots, paperweights,
and screens etc. These graceful objects of the studio fully embody
the aesthetic tastes of the literati and are highly regarded by
connoisseurs of art and antiquities. Thus, within the realm of
antiquities, literati objects, elegantly known as ‘literati curios’ or
‘playthings’ (wen wan), occupy a high position. Among these ‘literati
playthings’, the waterpot is the most distinguished.
The Song dynasty scholar, Long Dayuan, in An Illustrated Catalogue
of Ancient Jades: The Studio (Guyu Tupu: Wenfang bu) wrote that
‘the waterpot (shuicheng), is a small receptacle for holding water
for use on an inkstone. It is also known as a shuizhongcheng.’
Another Song dynasty scholar, Zhao Xihu, in his Pure Records of the
Collected Works of Yantian (Yantian qinglu ji) wrote: ‘rising early in
the morning one should then grind ink, filling the inkstone with liquid,
enough for one day’s use; but when the ink is used up and you need
to grind again, that is why there is a waterpot.’ From this we can
understand the importance of waterpots as receptacles of water to
grind ink.
Waterpots first appeared in the Qin and Han dynasties but reached
their height in the Ming and Qing dynasties. They come in many
shapes and forms as well as a rich variety of materials, such as
ceramic, bronze, jade, wood, and lacquer etc. Aside from their
practical usage, waterpots more often have an aesthetic quality that
is meant to be displayed and admired. Placed on the scholar’s table
together with the inkstone, it is said to warm the heart and delight
the eye. The earliest known ceramic waterpots date from the Wei
and Jin dynasties. During the Jin dynasty as well as the Northern
and Southern dynasties, they were often made with a celadon glaze.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were waterpots of greater
diversity, showcasing a dazzling array of bright colours and glazes.
The current lot is of the ‘horse-hoof’ form, curving elegantly to the
rim from a wide waist. The recessed base with a gracefully written
six-character Yongzheng mark within double circles in underglaze-
blue. The exterior is decorated in the doucai palette with the qingyun
(literally ‘celebratory clouds’) motif. It is an exemplary piece from the clouds appear in the beginning of the year, timely snow always
Yongzheng period.
The reign of the Yongzheng emperor marks the highpoint of Qing
dynasty ceramics, producing a rich variety of celebrated and famous
pieces of porcelain. In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng reign
(1735), Tang Ying recorded in his Commemorative Stele on Ceramic
Production (Taocheng jishi bei) that in the eight years between 1728
and 1735, the total number of colours and glazes including old and
Image courtesy of the Nanjing Museum
南京博物院藏
new styles achieved by the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen exceeded
over fifty-seven types: an outstanding artistic achievement of the
period.
Ever since it was successfully fired in the Xuande period, reaching
superiority in the Chenghua period, doucai was a prominent
technique of decoration for polychrome porcelains produced in
the Ming and Qing dynasties. The doucai-decorated porcelain of
the Yongzheng period inherited the artistic legacy of the Chenghua
period. But during the Yongzheng period, potters innovated within
tradition and achieved a greater variety of decoration and richness of
colour.
The doucai decoration of the Yongzheng period replaced the Ming
dynasty methods of using underglaze-blue and wucai enamels,
with the more popular famille rose enamels, showcasing a more
flamboyant series of colour tones. In his Supplement Research on the
Origins of Ancient and Modern Porcelains (Zengbu gujin ciqi yuanliu
kao), Shao Zhemin wrote: ‘the porcelain of the Yongzheng period
is the best; their design and colours are the most exquisite. Of the
so-called ‘Yongzheng colours’, green, blue and red are particularly
brilliant. This is unique only to the reign of Yongzheng.’ The Imperial
porcelain produced during the Yongzheng era not only exhibited the
emperor’s aesthetic taste, but also reflected the highest standard
of ceramic production for the Qing Imperial court. Republican
connoisseurs such as Yang Xiangu noted that ‘of the greatest pieces
of porcelain, nothing surpasses those of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and
Qianlong reigns’.
With regards to the decoration of clouds; clouds are a common
phenomenon in nature, but their impermanent and ephemeral nature
and charm easily leads one to reverie. For the ancient Chinese,
clouds not only produced rain to nurture the myriad of things in
nature and enriched the land, it was also a symbol of auspiciousness.
Hence the terms xiangyun (literally ‘auspicious clouds’) and qingyun
(celebratory clouds). The scholar Yu Xin of the Northern Zhou
dynasty wrote in Stele for the Duke of Guangrao and Duke of Yuwen
(Guangrao gong Yuwen gong shendao bei) that ‘whenever the
prosperous clouds come into view, nourishing rain will follow’. Zhao
Yanzhao of the Tang dynasty also wrote that ‘when prosperous
follows at the beginning of the month’.
According to the ancient ideas of Yin and Yang, the two opposing
principles in nature, as well as ancient theories regarding the five
colours, clouds with various tones and shades were referred to
as wuse xiangyun (literally ‘five-coloured auspicious clouds’) as
well as ‘celebratory clouds’. They were considered an auspicious
omen. In the Liezi, a Daoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, it was
Image courtesy of the Nanjing Museum
南京博物院藏