Page 317 - CHRISTIE'S Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 09/14 - 15 / 17

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN
COLLECTION

1197
A FAMILLE NOIRE BEAKER VASE

KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
The vase is decorated in polychrome enamels with
birds amidst hydrangea branches on a black ground
divided into three registers by narrow bands further
decorated with hydrangea. Raised on a wood stand
attached by painted clips.
17 in. (43.2 cm.) high, wood stand

$12,000-18,000

PROVENANCE

John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960) Collection, New
York.
Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908-1979) Collection, New
York.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

It was not until 1913 that John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a
noted collector of European paintings and textiles,
discovered Chinese ceramics, when he was looking
for two vases to adorn the mantelpiece of his New
York home at 10 West 45th Street. By 1915, when J.P.
Morgan died and his porcelain collection was sold by
the art dealer Joseph Duveen, Rockefeller’s interest
in the feld was fully sparked. Duveen ofered the
Morgan ceramics to Rockefeller, Henry Clay Frick, and
Joseph E. Widener. The scale of John D., Jr.’s desired
purchase of the Morgan porcelains, however, was
great enough to necessitate a loan of some $2 million
from his father, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. “I have never
squandered money on horses, yachts, automobiles
or other foolish extravagances,” the collector wrote
in a letter outlining his request. “A fondness for these
porcelains is my only hobby – the only thing on which I
have cared to spend money. I have found their study a
great recreation and diversion, and I have become very
fond of them…. The money put into these porcelains is
not lost or squandered… I think you do not realize how
much I should like to do it, for you do not know the
beauty and charm of these works of art…” (R. Fosdick,
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., A Portrait, New York, 1956, p.
335) John D., Sr. duly gifted the required funds, and
a collection of exceptional beauty and provenance
was born. In the decades to come, John D., Jr., would
further advance his assemblage of Chinese ceramics
through personal scholarship and a commitment to
acquiring the very best.

According to his biographer, Rockefeller would spend
hours examining and contemplating his objects. To
display the pieces to their full potential, he had noted
architect Welles Bosworth design stands for them.
Many of the stands featured stabilizing clips painted
to conform to the design of the porcelain, as seen on
the present vase.
清康熙 墨地素三彩繡球花鳥紋觚式瓶

1198 No Lot

309