Page 132 - 2019 October Important Chinese Art Sotheby's Hong Kong

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A FINE BLUE AND WHITE HANDLED VASE 清乾隆 青花卷草紋貫耳瓶
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG 《大清乾隆年製》款

well potted with an ovoid body rising to a cylindrical neck
and galleried rim, flanked by a pair of lug handles, the body
finely painted in rich cobalt-blue tones with flame-like foliate
motifs wreathed in an undulating scroll with trefoil leaves,
all between bands of overlapping plantain lappets, the neck
and handles encircled by a key-fret band between cresting
waves, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark
19.7 cm, 7¾ in.

HK$ 1,200,000-1,800,000
US$ 153,000-230,000

The present vase is an archetypal example of the archaistic Vases of this elegant form are known as arrow vases on
style favoured by the Qianlong Emperor as it follows imperial account of their similarity with archaic bronze vessels used
porcelain designs of the Xuande reign, which were in turn for touhu, a ‘pitch-pot’ game. Touhu was a contest between
inspired by archaic bronze vessels. A closely related vase players who had to throw arrows into the mouth or tubular
from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, is published handles of the vase which was placed at an equal distance
in Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Government Exhibits between two mats on which the players knelt. Touhu or
for the International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London, arrow vases continued to be produced in the Song dynasty
Shanghai, 1936, pl. 263; another in the National Palace and later, and were made in various media including bronze,
Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Blue-and-White Ware of the cloisonné and ceramics. This particular design appears to
Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1968, vol. II, pl. 7; a third in the have been first reproduced in the Yongzheng reign; see for
Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, is illustrated in The Official Kiln example a Yongzheng mark and period vase, in the Palace
Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Qing
140; and a further example was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, porcelains from the imperial kilns preserved in the Palace
30th May 2006, lot 1408, and twice in these rooms, 8th Museum], vol. 1, pt. II, Beijing, 2005, pl. 22.
October 2010, lot 2780, and 3rd October 2017, lot 3686. For
the Xuande prototype of this vase, see one in the National
Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special
Exhibition of Hsuan-Te Wares, Taipei, 1980, cat. no. 8.

Mark

130 SOTHEBY ’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART