Page 26 - Bonhams Los Angelis December 14, 2022

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A TURQUOISE-GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE ‘FLORAL’ WALL VASE
Jiaqing mark and of the period
Of bottle form with an ovoid body rising to a tall, waisted neck, the
neck flanked by pair of iron-red bat-form handles detailed in gilt, the
principal side of the vase exuberantly painted in polychrome famille-
rose enamels with a composite floral scroll issuing a large lotus
bloom at the center and peony, prunus, chrysanthemum, and fuchsia
blossoms at other points along the foliate stems, the flower at the top
of the neck suspending a beribboned ruyi pendant, each petal, stem,
and leaf throughout the composition outlined in gilt against a turquoise
ground, all between a band of ruyi heads at the mouth and lappets
at the foot, set upon an integral openwork stand enameled in iron red
and gilt in imitation of wire-inlaid wood, the base of the stand with the
six-character mark painted in a line in gilt in seal script, the reverse
enameled turquoise and carved with a recessed notch and four holes
for suspension.
8 5/8in (21.9cm) high

$30,000 - 50,000
Provenance:
Sara Fredericks (1903-1986), likely acquired in the 1960s in New York,
thence by descent

The present vase is the mate to the one George Walter Vincent Smith
(1832-1923) acquired prior to 1910, which he bequeathed to the
Springfield Museums, and was later sold at Christie’s, New York, 23
September 2021, lot 946. The two vases have identical designs, with
the colors and form of each decorative element carefully matched.
The addition of gilt outlines throughout the composition is a rarely-
seen flourish on Jiaqing period (r. 1796-1820) famille-rose porcelains,
and lends a trompe l’oeil cloisonné-inspired effect, which the imperial
artisans would have mastered during the prior reign of the Qianlong
emperor (r. 1736-1795). For a closely-related Jiaqing mark and period
wall vase of the same shape, related composite floral motif, and bat
handles, but with a ruby ground and lacking the gilt outlines, see one in
the collection National Palace Museum, Taipei (coll. no. C1B000623).
The same collection also includes a Jiaqing mark and period pink-
ground ‘floral composite’ wall vase of slender baluster form (coll. no.
C1B000614), which has an integral stand very similar to the present
example.

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