Page 88 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art February 2015 Knightsbridge

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An iron-red and gilt decorated powder blue
rouleau vase
Kangxi
The cylindrical body finely enamelled in iron red and black with
four large carp swimming amongst seaweed, smaller carp and
langoustines, all in gilt, the shoulder with quatrefoil medallions
enclosing four of the babao and reserved on a diaper border, the
bamboo-trunk neck with formal shou and wan roundels framed by
decorative bands above and below.
47cm (18 1/2in) high

£10,000 - 12,000 HK$120,000 - 140,000
CNY95,000 - 110,000

Provenance
Ex. Mary Burrell (1873-1968) Collection; Mary Burrell was the youngest
sister of the famous Glasgow based collector, Sir William Burrell (1861-
1958).

Sir William Burrell was a wealthy Glaswegian shipping magnate with a
keen interest in art. Over the span of about eighty years he amassed
a vast and eclectic collection, seeking out fine craftsmanship in the
objects he acquired. The collection, gifted in 1944 to the city of
Glasgow, mostly focuses on late medieval and early Renaissance
Europe, but it also contains very representative and important
examples of Chinese and Islamic art, Ancient Civilisations and French
Paintings, including works by Rodin, Degas and Cézanne.

The combination of powder blue ground with iron red and gilded
decoration was one of the most popular amongst the export types
produced at Jingdezhen in the 18th century. Wares decorated in this
palette were particularly favoured in the Middle East and in Europe,
where they would be used as table wares or decorative objects in the
residences of the élite.

Powder-blue glazed porcelain was first produced in the late 17th
century in Jingdezhen. Its Chinese name, chuiqing, derives from the
particular technique required to apply the pigment: the powdered
cobalt was blown onto the surface through a bamboo cane whose
extremity was covered in a fine gauze.

A similarly decorated vase was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 May
2008, lot 1752. Another rouleau vase, with differently gilded ground
but very similar treatment of the fish and very specifically dated to
1700-1710, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum collection, museum no.
C.1347-1910.

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