Page 16 - Bonhams Chinese & Asian Works of Art Los Angelis December 14 2020

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A SMALL FAMILLE ROSE ENAMELED PORCELAIN VASE
Shende Tang mark, Daoguang period, 1821-1850
Carefully potted with thin walls, the petite vase supported by
a tall spreading foot, with a slender long neck, painted in soft-
hued enamels with a charming flower -and-bird theme, the
deeply recessed base inscribed with the four-character mark in
austere regular script.
5 5/8in (14.4cm) high

$800 - 1,000
Published and exhibited
Masterworks of Chinese Art. The Rosalind Ching Pastor
Collection. Catalogue of an exhibition at the Honolulu Academy
of Arts July 28 - Sept 25, 2005. Honolulu Academy of Arts,
2005, p. 42.
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A PAIR OF MINIATURE FAMILLE ROSE VASES WITH
BEAUTIES
Qianlong seal mark, Republic Period or possibly later
Each diminutive ovoid vase finely painted with a continuous
scene of a European beauty in a garden and Western-style
houses nearby, with a four-line poem written in kaishu with three
seals describing the scene.
4 1/2in (11.4cm) high (2).
$1,000 - 1,500

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A FINE ENAMELED PORCELAIN PLAQUE OF A SAGE
AND CRANE
Attributed to Wang Qi, Republic Period
Of tall rectangular section depicting a sage, his acolyte carrying
13 a zither in a cloth beneath lengthy calligraphy bearing a
signature Wang Qi and cyclical date as well as seals reading
Xichang Wang Qi and taotao mi.
15in (38cm) high

$2,000 - 3,000
Bonhams has sold several plaques by the renowned ceramicist
Wang Qi. Through his long career, Wang seems to have worked
in several styles. One style seems to have been focused
on the power of narrative. See two horizontal plaques both
offered in our former San Francisco rooms: one depicting
the bridal process of the sister of demon queller Zhong Kui
as led by a group of quirky demons though a misty wood (lot
990, sale 24265 18 December 2017), or a plaque of identical
size depicting a group of squabbling blind men (lot 8191 sale
23486, 19 December 2016). Both represented the best of
Wang’s off-kilter narrative instincts, telling stories with humor
and pathos.

The present lot however seems to reflect a different style of
Wang’s work, one more soberly focused on the nuances
of character study. Here we see a sage, crane and a boy
attendant-- perhaps the Song dynasty recluse Lin Bu (Lin
Hejing). Whether by Wang Qi’s hand, by his atelier (and one
would assume the nature of porcelain production requires a
large team of assistants and disciples even of works most
reliably ‘by’ a ceramicist), or merely in his style, the present
lot is of high quality both in the calligraphy and the rendering
of the figures. The latter featuring Wang Qi’s characteristic
juxtaposition of fastidiously rendered faces and more loosely
14 stylized attire, said to be inspired by Wang’s encounter with the
work of the Eccentric early Qing dynasty artist Huang Shen.

14 | BONHAMS