Page 200 - Christie's Fine Chiense Works of Art November 2018 London

Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait (illustrated on http://www. and the Yongle vessels usually stand on an oval foot, while
trmkt.com/glassdetails.htm). This is a Syrian fask from the the Xuande examples usually have a rectangular foot. The
late 7th or early 8th century - contemporary with the Tang Yongle vessels do not have reign marks, while some of the
dynasty in China, and was made of mould blown and cut Xuande fasks have the reign mark written in underglaze
glass. A vessel of identical form was found in an excavation blue in a horizontal line below the mouth.
at Tarsus in south-eastern Anatolia in the 1930s, in a context It has been suggested by some authors that these fasks,
with Umayyad and early Abbasid pottery. The handles attach particularly the blue and white examples with decoration
only to the lower part of the neck of this vessel. Although clearly inspired by Islamic arabesques, were made solely
these glass forms could have made their way to China, for export to the Islamic West. However, one crucial piece
as Near Eastern glass was much appreciated in the Tang of evidence suggests that this is not the case. A shard from
dynasty, metalwork seems a more likely inspiration for the one of these fasks, bearing the same decoration as the
specifc form of the precursors of the current fask. There is a vessel sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in 2013 was excavated
somewhat larger Syrian brass canteen, dating to the mid-13th from the Yongle/Xuande stratum at the site of the early
century, in the collection of the Freer Gallery, Washington Ming dynasty Imperial Palace in Nanjing (See A Legacy
(illustrated on http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/ of the Ming, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 48, no. 52). Clearly these
islamic/artofobject1b.htm), which is of very similar form to elegant fasks were also appreciated by the Chinese court in
the lower section of the two-section fasks, and has close the frst half of the 15th century. This imperial appreciation
similarities with the single section, fat-backed fask sold by is also demonstrated in the 18th century by the vessels,
Christie’s in November 2007, mentioned above. Interestingly such as the current Yongzheng fask, which were so closely
the brass canteen is decorated with Christian imagery as well inspired by the early 15th century examples.
as calligraphy, geometric designs and animal scrolls. This
A much smaller Yongzheng fask of similar shape with
Syrian mid-13th century brass canteen in the Freer Gallery
decoration, which precisely imitates Xuande 15th century
appears to be the only published example of such a metal
fasks, is in the collection of the Shanghai Museum (see
vessel, but it shares a number of features with the form of the
陸明華Lu Minghua ed., Qingdai qinghua ciqi jian shang 清
Chinese porcelain two-section fasks, having both a bulb-
代青花瓷器鑒賞, Shanghai, 1996, pl. 16). A further smaller
shaped mouth and similarly S-form handles.
Yongzheng moon-fask, with bulb mouth and twin handles,
When the fattened fasks with upper and lower section and decorated in 15th century style, is illustrated by 錢
in double-gourd form appear in porcelain at the Chinese 振宗 Qian Zhenzong in Qingdai ciqi shangjian 青代瓷器賞
Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in the early 15th century, 鑑, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 84, no. 97. The mixed foral scroll
they appear with varied proportions, and in both plain seen on the current fask is also was also inspired by early
white and blue and white. A plain white example of the 15th century imperial porcelains, but was more frequently
larger type from the Yongle reign (1403-24), which was applied to meiping vases, large bulbous fasks or open
excavated from the early Yongle stratum at the Imperial wares. However, the 18th century decorator clearly saw the
kilns, is illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and potential for its application to enhance the current fask.
Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Signifcantly, a Yongzheng blue and white moon-fask with
Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 92-3, no. 5. short straight neck and twin handles, without a raised foot,
A blue and white Yongle fask of the smaller size is in the in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing, is decorated
collection of the British Museum (illustrated by J. Harrison with a similar mixed foral scroll to that on the current fask
Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, (see 故宮博物院藏 青代御窯瓷器 Gugong Bowuyuan cang –
p. 110, no. 3:21). Large and smaller fasks decorated and Qingdai yuyao ciqi, volume I-2, Beijing, 2005, pp. 104-5, no.
undecorated were made in the Yongle and Xuande periods, 41). The Beijing fask also bears a reign mark of similar style
to that on the current fask.

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