Page 31 - Sothebys Imperial Porcelain Private Collection

fig. 1
Copper-red ‘dragon’ double-gourd vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9th November 2007, lot 1216

Magnificently painted with five dragons leaping through lingzhi Notoriously difficult to apply and fire with success, copper
clouds above crashing waves, this vase is a testament to the red required precise control of the firing temperature and
strength of the Qianlong reign. It boasts the formidable power the atmosphere inside the kiln. The resulting tone of the red
of the Emperor through the fierce five-clawed dragons and was particularly important to the Qianlong Emperor, possibly
the revitalisation of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. With the due to the auspicious connotation of the colour. His demand
establishment of the Qing dynasty, a concentrated renewal for excellence is noted in a court record of 1738, where he
of imperial patronage sparked a fresh wave of porcelain rated the colour of a copper-red meiping with dragon design
production, resulting in a fresh wave of creativity and the as not good enough (Feng Xianming, Annotated Collection of
invention and improvement of established techniques, such as Historical Documents on Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Taipei,
perfecting the use of copper-red pigment. 2000, p. 232). Further evidence of the technical proficiency of
the craftsmen of this era is evident in the masterful application
Only one companion piece to this vase appears to be recorded,
of the pigment through thin, almost pencilled, lines and
sold in our London rooms, 20th June 2001, lot 23 and again
stippling to create a rich and sumptuous effect similar to the
in these rooms, 9th November 2007, lot 1216 (fig. 1). The
‘heaping and piling’ of early Ming blue and white porcelain.
rarity of these vases is further evidenced in the reign mark,
whereby the radical in zhi is turned to face inwards. This mark Compare a similarly rendered moonflask painted in copper red
is found on a comparatively smaller number of porcelains, with four dragons surrounding a central front-facing dragon,
including another copper-red double-gourd vase of similar the reverse with four further dragons, all amongst scrolling
form but with a more compressed lower bulb, decorated with clouds above crashing waves at the foot and a ruyi band at the
chilong medallions, sold in these rooms, 15th May 1990, lot neck, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, illustrated
193; and a pair in the Sui’anshi (Room of Finding Peace) in in The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei,
the Yangxingdian (Hall of Cultivating Mind) in the Forbidden 2005, pl. 47, and sold in these rooms, 1st May 2001, lot 538.
City, Beijing, where the Emperor is said to have rested during Copper-red dragon vases are known from as early as the late
periods of fasting, illustrated in situ in Qingdai gongting Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and Hongwu reign (1368-1398); see
shenghuo/ Life in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 177. a pear-shaped vase with handles, attributed to the Hongwu
A vase with this mark, similarly rendered in copper red with a period, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in The
side-facing dragon amongst branches of lingzhi, from the Qing Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 12, Shanghai, 2000,
Court collection and still in Beijing, is included in The Complete pl. 223; and a meiping sold in these rooms, 13th November
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White 1990, lot 125.
Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 174,
together with a covered jar, but with a different Qianlong reign
mark, pl. 178.

IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION 29