Page 47 - Sothebys Imperial Porcelain Private Collection

Exceptionally rare for its design of quail in a garden setting, this Johnson, Mount Trust and Meiyintang collections, published in
vase is notable for its elaborate design that celebrates both Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection,
antiquity and innovation. A sense of naturalism is successfully vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 958, where the author notes that the
achieved through the carefully observed details, from the combination of plants and and rock is intended as a rebus
rendering of the quail’s feathers to the differing textures of the of birthday wishes, and the pair of quails (shuang an) are a
rocks and the numerous blossoming flowers occupying the homophone for ‘double peace’ (p. 271). When combined with
garden. The overall design was executed to complement the the chrysanthemums, they form the wish shuang an ju, ‘May
idiosyncratic shape of the vessel and conceived to be viewed you live in double peace’. The motif is also found on Qianlong
like a painting on an unopened handscroll. mark and period painted enamel wares; a dish was sold at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th May 2014, lot 3331; and a snuff
‘Bird and flower’ paintings can be traced back at least to the
bottle was sold at Christie’s London, 18th June 2002, lot 98.
Five Dynasties period (906-960) and became one of the most
recognised painting genres in China in the Song dynasty (969- This vase is further filled with auspicious motifs which is
1279). Created by academy painters working for the court, clearly a response to the Qianlong Emperor’s infatuation with
it was a favourite subject of the great imperial connoisseur, portents of good fortune. The vase is flanked by a pair of
collector and amateur painter, Zhao Ji, the Huizong Emperor ruyi-form handles, which adds an added dimension of novelty
(r. 1101-25). One of the important early examples of these and opulence to the piece. The appearance of ruyi sceptres
vibrant nature scenes, attributed to the Southern Song painter as handles on vases also catered to the Qianlong Emperor’s
Li Anzhong (c. 1117-1140), Quail, already displays the serene predilection for the eccentric. Furthermore, the lotus flowers
spirit characteristic of this genre. and red bats suspending musical chimes on the green-ground
borders form the wish for ‘longevity, fortune and happiness as
This genre was brought back to life during the Yongzheng
high as the sky’.
reign under the directorship of the brilliant Superintendent of
the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Tang Ying (1682-1786). Tang Although individual elements of the form and composition are
Ying’s intimate knowledge of the palace collection enabled well-known from this reign, close counterparts are difficult to
him to appreciate ancient masterpieces and commission find as the Qianlong potters were masters at combining their
new products of the same rank. He continued to work closely many stylistic elements in myriad ways to create ever new
with the Qianlong Emperor and inspired craftsmen to create designs. The green-ground neck and foot with formal flower
increasingly lavish wares suited to the Emperor’s taste. For scrolls simulate the characteristics of yangcai porcelains,
example, see a yangcai twin vase, painted with two medallions which were probably inspired by brocade designs. The familiar
enclosing magpies sitting on branches and quail and millet, design of lotus scrolls has been injected with a hint of novelty
against sgraffiato embellished ruby and blue grounds, in the through the green ground, a colour that was developed in the
National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Qianlong period and embodied contemporaneity. This style
exhibition Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien- represents a somewhat later stage of porcelain decoration of
lung Reign, 2008, cat. no. 21, where it is noted that vases of the Qianlong reign and remained popular in the succeeding
this description are recorded from the sixth year of Qianlong Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns. Compare a Qianlong mark and
(corresponding to 1741) in the Qinggong Neiwufu Zaobanchu period vase of ovoid form similarly painted with a continuous
huoji dang’an zonghui [Documents in the Archives of the flower scene between green-ground borders adorned with
Workshop of the Qing Palace Imperial Household Department]; formal lotus scrolls, but flanked with archaistic dragon
a bowl in the Baur collection, published in John Ayers, Chinese handles, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi.
Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 228; Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum
and another from the Bois family, Captain Vivian Bulkeley- Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 355, pl. 36.

IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION 45