Page 62 - 2019 OctoberEnammelled Jewels Sotheby's Hong Kong

1 A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND SUPERBLY PAINTED
BEIJING ENAMEL FALANGCAI POUCH-SHAPED
GLASS VASE
BLUE ENAMEL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

masterfully conjured by the most dexterous craftsmen in the Imperial Workshops
under the direct mandate from the Emperor, the immaculate milky-white glass
well hollowed and charmingly modelled in the form of a ribbon-tied pouch, its
ovoid body carved with sets of evenly spaced vertical ribs simulating textile pleats,
elegantly tapering to a fluted neck and ruffled rim, the shoulder wreathed by a
twisted soft-pink sash fastened into an off-centred knotted ribbon suspending
two flowing tassels, exquisitely painted in delicate pastel enamels depicting on
both sides a phoenix gracefully swooping from cascading pink and lavender-
blue clouds amid peonies, the birds with bodies covered in flamboyant plumage
individually picked out in alternating shades of pink, green, yellow, blue and
aubergine enamels and gilding, their nimble wings outstretched to reveal the fluffy
pinkish-white feathers on the underside of their bodies, extending to a trailing
two-feathered tail in matching colours patterned with circular motifs, their crested
heads supported on long necks with billowing plumes, curling backwards towards
a cluster of large frilly-edged peony blooms, the realistically painted flowers
rendered in shades of rose-pink and aubergine, supported on fresh stems with
abundant foliage in two shades of green, the blue-enamelled four-character reign
mark cleverly enclosed within a budding bloom, the fluted neck embellished with
dianthus florets suspending jewelled pendants, all reserved on a rich imperial
yellow ground save for the interior and base exposing the translucent vitreous
material
18.2 cm, 7⅛ in.

Estimate Upon Request

PROVENANCE
Collection of Yixin, the first Prince Gong (1833-1898), by repute.
Collection of Abel W. Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai.
Collection of Paul (1902-1987) and Helen Bernat, Brookline, Greater
Boston, Mass.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 15th November 1988, lot 75.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29th October 2000, lot 2.
EXHIBITED
Qingwan Yaji nianzhou nianqing shouzang zhan/Ching Wan Society
Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition. Works of Art, Taipei, 2012, cat. no. 73.
LITERATURE
Sotheby’s Hong Kong – Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.
430.
Sotheby’s. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 439.
Geng Baochang, ‘Ya qi tian cheng/Qingwan Yaji zhencang taociqi
duoying [Refined works made in Heaven. Highlights of ceramics
collected in the Ching Wan Society]’, Ching Wan Society Twentieth
Anniversary Exhibition. Works of Art, Taipei, 2012, p. 15, no. 73 (detail).
Mark

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