Page 216 - March 17 2017 Chinese Art NYC, Christies

PROPERTY FROM THE ROBERT A. LANDAU COLLECTION (mark)

1207
A FAMILLE VERTE AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE PETAL-LOBED BOWL

KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD
(1662-1722)
The eight-lobed bowl is decorated on the exterior with eight scenes featuring poets enjoying leisurely pursuits including
receiving guests, horse-riding and drinking in a garden, and each lobe is inscribed with a stanza from the poem Yinzhong
Baxian (‘The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup’) by Du Fu, all above a lappet border at the foot. The interior has a fgure of Li
Bai with wine jars in the center below a border of cartouches alternately enclosing peaches or pomegranates at the rim.
8¬ in. (21.8 cm) diam.

$6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE

Christie’s New York, 1 November 1996, lot 309.

The poem Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup (Yinzhong baxian) was written by the famous Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (AD
712-770) who, like many Tang dynasty men of letters, derived considerable enjoyment, and, apparently, inspiration, from
drinking wine. In his poem he chose to celebrate the drinking habits of other literary men of his time, including that of
his great friend Li Bai (AD 701-62). This poem provided the subject for paintings at least as early as the Yuan dynasty
(1279-1368), and appeared as decoration on porcelain in the Qing dynasty Shunzhi reign (1644-1661), although it was
particularly popular in the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). Two bowls of the same shape as the present bowl, also decorated
with scenes from the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, and of Kangxi date, were sold at Christie’s New York, from the
collection of Julia and John Curtis, lot 3588, an example in blue and white that also includes a verse from the poem
for each of the eight scenes, and lot 3587, a yellow-ground blue and white example, with some details in green and
aubergine.

清康熙 五彩花口盌 雙圈六字楷書款

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