Page 89 - Chinese Art Bonhams San Francisco December 18, 2017
P. 89
PROPERTY FROM VARIOUS OWNERS
958
A PAIR OF CINNABAR LACQUER VASES
Republic period
Of pear shape, the sides incised in continuous garden tableaux of
scholars and attendants engaging in erudite activities of chess, the
zither, and the appreciation of calligraphy and painting; below an
unusual band at the neck with a circular medallion enclosing the three
Latin letters PBE and above an incised rectangular cartouche reading
Caizheng Bu Yinshua Ju Zhi towards the bottom.
9in (23cm) high
$8,000 - 12,000
The Caizheng Bu Yinshua ju (the Printing House of the Ministry of
Finance) was founded soon after the fall of the Qing dynasty. That
mark and the high quality of the workmanship on these vases could
suggest they were government commissions for one of the early 20th
century international world fairs-- the ‘E’ thus standing for ‘exposition’
or ‘exhibition.’ The link to the newly founded Ministry of Finance could
also suggest that the ‘B’ in the cartouches might stand for ‘bank,’
making these vases goodwill gestures to other major players in the
international world of finance on behalf of the newly founded Republic.
FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART | 87
