Page 50 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art April 3 2018

TOWARDS A DISTINCTIVE STYLE

A SUPERB CHENGHUA VASE

Blue and white wares of the Chenghua period are extremely The minor alterations to the classic yuhuchun form result in
rare and even rarer are those of this exceptional quality, a decidedly different product. The shape was favoured by the
upright form and large size. Chenghua porcelain in general Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368-1398) and subsequently adorned
displays a very distinct character both in terms of the material with a variety of decorative bands, a style that continued to
and the style of decoration. Initially heavily influenced by the be developed and modified in the succeeding Yongle (r. 1403-
attractive style of the Xuande reign, the Chenghua potters 1424) and Xuande (r. 1426-1435) reigns. The elegant silhouette
gradually developed their own distinctive sophisticated style by of the present vase is achieved through two modifications
making a deliberate move away from earlier models, perhaps from its predecessors: a taller splayed foot with a countersunk
most evident in the idiosyncratic forms and designs that were stepped base and a slightly higher swell of the body. To
developed. The present vase is a fine and unique example of complement the streamlined form, the craftsman has skilfully
such transformation; while its motifs and form are rooted in incorporated the white negative space as important elements
traditions established from the beginning of the Ming dynasty, in the overall design to capture a fresh sense of harmony and
they are presented in an unusual yet strikingly elegant manner. modernity.
Veiled with a lustrous silky glaze, this vase can be identified It is notable that the trio of bands on the neck, namely the
as a mid-Chenghua period creation. ‘Softer’ to the touch tightly drawn stiff leaves, the foliate scroll and ruyi heads, is
than its predecessors, it marks the move away from the crisp rarely found on Ming vases yet was adopted as the standard
and glossy glazes of the finest Xuande wares and towards design for yuhuchunping in the eighteenth century; only
the muted, velvety glaze of the famous Chenghua palace one other Yongle vase adorned with a similar scheme, but
bowls. It is interesting to compare the current vase to two the body painted with a garden of banana leaves, bamboo
meiping decorated with vibrant foliate scrolls, which can be and rocks, appears to have been published, from the Qing
attributed to the early years of Chenghua through its glaze Court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
and cobalt that are closer to the Xuande type; see a pair and included in the Museum’s exhibition Imperial Porcelains
from the collection of Robert C. Bruce, sold in our London from the reigns of Hongwu and Yongle in the Ming Dynasty,
rooms, 12th May 1953, lot 87, one of which entered the H.R.N. 2015, cat. no. 103. Notably, this Yongle vase also has a short
Norton and J.T. Tai collections, and sold in our London rooms, flared foot, which is more akin to that of the present vase and
5th November 1963, lot 160, and again in these rooms, 8th contrasts from the commonly used straight foot.
October 2010, lot 2622, the other sold in our London rooms
1st/2nd April 1974, lot 197, and again in these rooms, 16th May A line drawing of a similar lingzhi scroll dated to the Chenghua
period, also with an outlined stem and leaves emitting from
1989, lot 18, from the British Rail Pension Fund. These meiping
behind the fungus, is published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing
were reunited briefly in the 1970s at Hugh Moss Ltd, when both
ciqi jiandin [Appraisal of Ming and Qing Porcelains], Hong
were illustrated together in Adrian Joseph, Ming Porcelain.
Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, pl. 39. Kong, 1993, fig. 175 middle right.

48 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比