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Finely painted with luscious flowers in a variegated palette of   of the imperial palace. With soft curvaceous sides that
                                                                                                                                            grays, reds and blue, the present waterpot represents a well   turn gently inward at the mouth, the present pingguozun
                                                                                                                                            preserved piece of history; an homage to the creative vision   (‘apple pot’) is a particularly fine example of this imperial
                                                                                                                                            and aesthetic sensibilities of the Kangxi Emperor himself.  group. Reminiscent of the cardioid shape formed by pooling
                                                                                                                                                                                      sunlight, the pingguozun is not only a delight to hold and
                                                                                                                                            Ascending the throne in early 1661, the Kangxi Emperor   behold but also a testament to the innovation and technical
                                                                                                                                            consolidated the work of his father Shizu (the Shunzhi   precision of the imperial workshops.
                                                                                                                                            Emperor), further unifying China and establishing a century-
                                                                                                                                            long period of peace, prosperity and artistic production   Compare a number of similar waterpots of this shape and
                                                                                                                                            commonly known as the High Qing era (ca. 1683-1799).   decoration preserved around the world, including one
                                                                                                                                            Under his careful patronage, craftsmen at the imperial   directly from the Qing Court Collection preserved at the
                                                                                                                                            kilns of Jingdezhen were pushed to new limits, producing   Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng.
                                                                                                                                            new wares with innovative forms, designs and glazes, and   Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection,
                                                                                                                                            reviving ancient decorative techniques long since abandoned   Beijing, 1989, pl. 22; another in the Shanghai Museum,
                                                                                                                                            by the late Ming dynasty.                 published in Underglaze Blue and Red. Elegant Decoration
                                                                                                                                                                                      of Porcelain from Yuan, Ming and Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.
                                                                                                                                            The present lot typifies this period of creativity. Skillfully   118; and another, from the Meiyintang Collection, included
                                                                                                                                            painted with intricate scrolling blooms, the present   in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang
                                                                                                                                            waterpot’s tranquil design relies on the rich and varied tones   Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 733, where the author
                                                                                                                                            of copper red underglaze. Copper red was, and arguably   identifies the stylized flower sprays as peony, lotus,
                                                                                                                                            remains, one of the most challenging pigments employed   chrysanthemum and hibiscus.
                                                                                                                                            by Jingdezhen artisans, who had struggled to use it since its
                                                                                                                                            advent in the early Ming dynasty. Although much favored   A fourth waterpot of this type from the collection of
                                                                                                                                            for its dazzling hue, underglaze-red was virtually abandoned   C.P. Lin was included in the exhibition Elegant Form
                                                                                                                                            after the Xuande period (1425-1435) due to its frustratingly   and Harmonious Decoration, Percival David Foundation,
                                                                                                                                            high failure rate and only revived around the 1670s on the   London, 1992, cat. no. 113, having been previously sold
                                                                                                                                            orders of the Kangxi Emperor. Still only made in the smallest   in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 221,
                                                                                                                                            of quantities for the imperial court and the wealthiest of   and illustrated in Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Twenty Years
                                                                                                                                            private buyers, these exceptional wares, experimental in   1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 88; and another, from the
                                                                                                                                            nature and spellbinding in quality, continue to be treasured   collection of the Xuantong Emperor (r. 1909-11), was sold in
                                                                                                                                            in important collections across the globe.  these rooms, 16th April 1983, lot 488.
                                                                                                                                            The Kangxi period also saw the innovation and formalizing of   Waterpots of this form were also produced in other glaze
                                                                                                                                            new canonical vessel forms. Building upon the experimental   colors: compare a peachbloom-glazed example, formerly in
                                                                                                                                            works of the Transitional and Early Qing periods, Kangxi era   the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, in the National Gallery of
                                                                                                                                            potters refined and reproduced a wide range of new forms   Art, Washington, illustrated in John Ayers, ‘The Peachbloom
                                                                                                                                            typified by their crisp rims and subtle curving forms. The   Wares of the Kangxi Period (1622-1722)’, Transactions of
                                                                                                                                            most celebrated eight (or nine) of these new designs are   the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 64, 1999-2000, p. 47, fig.
                                                                                                                                            collectively termed the Badama (‘Eight Great Numbers’)   33; and a clair-de-lune example in the Shanghai Museum,
                                                                                                                                            by connoisseurs and were likely produced in complete   illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai
                                                                                                                                            sets, intended to adorn the studios and scholars’ desks   Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 240.































           40      SOTHEBY’S        COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11744                                                                 PROPERTY FROM CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ACQUISITION FUND  41
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