Page 96 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

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A RARe clOIsONNÉ
eNAMel ‘FOReIgNeRs’ VAse,
lATe MINg TO eARly QINg
China, 1560-1680. Of square slender
form with tapering sides on a recessed
gilt base rising to an everted rim gilt
to the interior and exterior, and a gilt
border between the sides and the
shoulder. The reddish gilt and deep
sapphire blue ground suggest this
vase was made during the late Ming
dynasty.

Provenance: From an old Boston
family estate, by repute acquired
in China around 1900, thence by
descent in the same family.
condition: Fine condition with
extensive wear, dents especially to
the base and finial, small losses,
old touch-ups and fillings mostly
to edges, firing flaws and extensive
pitting, all as expected from wares of
this period and type. Fine patina with
malachite green areas.

Weight: 2,429 g
Dimensions: Height 37.8 cm
Enameled with gilt wire, two sides
showing two or three foreigners on a
bridge above a deer or a Manchurian
crane amid scrolling lotus with blossoms,
pines, bats, and dragonflies, the other
two sides with blossoming lotus, pine,
deer and a central pavilion, below ruyi
and cash bands, the shoulder with lotus
flowers below a key fret band, all on a
deep sapphire blue ground, a choice
of color associated with early cloisonné
from the Jingtai era onwards.
After Macau was leased to Portugal in
1557 as a trading post, in exchange for
an annual rent of 500 tael, the subject of
foreigners became increasingly popular
again, foreigners having been depicted
in Chinese ceramics as early as the
Tang period but seemingly forgotten
in secular art until the Ming dynasty.
Combining a fascination with the exotic
and derisive yet benevolent humor, these
foreigners (usually Portuguese or Dutch)
are depicted with exaggerated features
bordering on the grotesque, of which the
present piece is a striking example.
Literature comparison: Compare with a
pair of cloisonné and gilt bronze candle
holders in the form of foreigners, sold
by Christie’s Hong Kong in Masterpieces
of the Enameller’s Art from the Mandel
Collection on 30 May 2012, lot 3906.

罕見的景泰藍《西洋人》方瓶，明末清初
中國，1560-1680。方形細長，頸部内凹，邊
緣交叉処鎏金。紅色的鍍金和深藍寶石色底表
明此花瓶是在明末。
來源：波士頓老家族遺產，據説1900年前後購
於中國，自此保存在同一家族至今。
品相：品相良好，嚴重磨損，尤其是底部有凹
痕，細小的損失，陳舊的修補和填充物大部分
在邊緣，燒製缺陷和廣泛的凹痕，所有這些都
是這個時期和類型的產品所具有的特徵。
重量：2,429 克
尺寸：高37.8 厘米
estimate euR 1.500,-
Starting price EUr 750,-

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