Page 179 - Christie's London Fine Chinese Ceramics Nov. 2019

Despite the unusual form displayed by the current fask, the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The All
decorative technique is comparable to several other known Complete Qianlong: the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor
examples of the Qianlong period. The efect of an ancient metallic Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, p. 256, no. II-3.49. Other faux-bronze
surface, with malachite encrustations is cleverly portrayed porcelain wares of the Qianlong period achieve the appearance
through the use of a teadust glaze, dusted with gilt highlights of cast bronze through the use of intricate carved decoration,
and enamelled with blue-green ‘robin’s egg’ splashes. This covered in a matt dark brown glaze. A magnifcent and very
efect is seen on a gu-form vessel with impressed Qianlong seal rare pair of imitation archaic bronze hu-form vases were sold at
mark and of the period in the collection of the Palace Museum, Christie’s Paris, 19 December 2012, lot 104 (fg. 2) and display this
Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the technique beautifully.
Palace Museum: Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration
and Famille Rose Decoration, vol. 39, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 169, no. Examples of non-archaic forms decorated with simulated bronze
150. Two other examples, also of gu-form, were previously sold surface include a tripod washer and a square-form two-handled
at Christie’s; one from the J.M. Hu collection sold at Christie’s vase, both in the collection of the National Palace Museum,
Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, lot 1239 (fg. 1) and the other from a Taipei, illustrated in Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural
private collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2011, Enterprise, Taipei, 2002, p. 173, no. V-6 and p. 175, no. V-9. The
lot 1602. Four other notable examples with similar decorative vase (fg. 3) is particularly intriguing when compared with the
palette and technique but without the teadust-glazed ground current moon fask. It is decorated with stylised shou roundels
and all of archaic bronze form, including a fanglei, a fangding, a to the body, reserved on a classic scroll diaper ground, almost
hu and a fanggu are in the collection of the Shenyang Imperial identical to those seen on the moon fask under discussion.
Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected
by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, The Chinaware volume the The current moon fask is representative of the Qianlong
second part, Shenyang, 2007, pp. 210-215, nos. 1-4. Emperor’s personal tastes. It incorporates elements of China’s
artistic past in its bronze-like decoration, as well as its 15th
Although these examples all exhibit similar decorative techniques century form and makes reference to the Western concept of
to the current fask, there appears to have been some variation trompe l’oeil by tricking the viewer into believing they are in fact
in the methods for the imitation of bronze on porcelain during looking at an object made from bronze rather than porcelain.
the Qianlong reign. In some cases, a café-au-lait glaze was used It is truly symbolic of the artistic circumstance of its era,
as the ground and the decorative details were painted in gilt demonstrating innovation, imperial aesthetic taste and sensitivity
enamel. See, for example, an archaistic ding-form vessel in the to Western artistic concepts.

Fig. 1: A faux bronze gu-form vase, Fig. 2: A pair of faux bronze hu-form vases, Fig. 3: A faux bronze square-form two-
Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, Christie’s Paris, 19 December 2012, lot 104 handled vase, collection of the National
lot 1239 Palace Museum, Taipei

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