Page 222 - Christie's London Fine Chinese Ceramics Nov. 2019

PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN
191
A FAMILLE ROSE TURQUOISE-GROUND TIBETAN-STYLE VASE,
BENBAPING
JIAQING SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN IRON-RED AND OF THE
PERIOD (1796-1820)
The vase is fnely decorated to the globular body with the Eight Buddhist
Emblems, Bajixiang, amongst lotus heads with scrolling foliage above a band
of overlapping petals to the base. The ribbed neck is painted in imitation of a
Tibetan banner. The side and top of the tapering cylindrical mouth is adorned
with further lotus scrolls, and the raised rim is covered with a pink glaze dotted
with blue bosses. The interior and the base are enamelled in turquoise.
10Ω in. (26.6 cm.) high
£80,000-120,000 US$99,000-150,000
€91,000-140,000
PROVENANCE:
The Collection of a Noble Italian Consul based in China during the period
1907-1931.
This rare form of altar vase, known as benbaping in Chinese, was made to
hold Sacred Plants for rituals associated with Lamaist Buddhism, and is
related to ewers used to contain Sacred Water for ritual washing. The ewers
share with the vases the same globular body and drum-like upper section,
but with the addition of a spout emanating from a dragons's mouth. An
example of this type of ewer is illustrated by R. Kerr in Chinese Ceramics
- Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, Victoria and Albert Museum
Far Eastern Series, London, 1986, p. 115, no. 101. The form of the current
vase is even more closely related to the gold or silver Bum-pa urn which
contained the ivory plaques used to confrm the identity of boys who were
the reincarnated Grand Lamas (see Treasures from Snow Mountains - Gems
of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, 2001, p. 50, no. 4).

The colourful banding seen on the neck of the current vase has been painted
to resemble the multi-coloured silk banners, often hung in cylindrical form,
in Buddhist temples. Examples can be seen in the Hall of Long Life of the
Potala illustrated in The Potala, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House,
Beijing, 1995, p. 52, no. 11.
Imperially-marked famille rose vases of this fom appear from the Qianlong
(1736-1795) to the Daoguang (1821-1851) reign, difering only by their
coloured enamel ground. A ruby-red-ground vase of this type, previously part
of a pair from the Fonthill Heirlooms, the Alfred Morrison Collection, was
sold at Christie's London, 4 November 2008, lot 227. Another Jiaqing-marked
vase of this unusual shape was included in the Art Gallery of New South
Wales Exhibition of Later Chinese Imperial Porcelain, Sydney, 1980, illustrated
in the Catalogue, no. 10.

清嘉慶 粉彩孔雀藍地八吉祥紋賁巴瓶 六字篆書款
來源:
歐洲私人珍藏, 義大利貴族於1907至1931年間在中國所購

220 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.