Page 138 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017
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‘Hundred deer’ vases such as the present can be counted through the Construction Office of the Yang Xin Dian, also
among the finest of products of the Qing imperial porcelain dated to the third year of the Qianlong reign (1738), sixth
workshops at Jingdezhen and are emblematic of the Qianlong month, mentioning a yangcai ‘hundred fortunes’ vase with
Emperor’s personality and rulership. Vases of this type and double handles, with an order to the effect that a vase should
quality were produced for only a short period, during the be made to the same design, but without handles; see Huali cai
tenure of Tang Ying (1682-1756) as supervisor of the imperial ci: Qianlong yangcai/Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the
kilns from the Yongzheng (1723-35) until the early Qianlong Ch’ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008, pl. 51, where Liao illustrates a
(1736-95) period. pair of ‘hundred deer’ vases with blue handles in the National
Palace Museum, Taipei, attributing them to the third year of
The scene continues around the whole vase as if on a the Qianlong reign (1738), describing the design as ‘hundred
handscroll, depicting a wild forest and mountain scene fortunes’ décor and stating that the deer are depicted in
that is occupied by a number of stags and deer of different different postures, “frolicking, standing, running, eating, and
species. The design carry a highly auspicious message, as the drinking”.
characters for deer and good fortune (lu) are homophonous
and because the deer, pine and peach trees depicted are all The version without handles may, however, not have only
symbols of longevity. been a trial that was not followed up, as only one such vase
without handles appears to be recorded, in the Seikado Bunko
This deer vase illustrates the Qianlong Emperor’s restoration Art Museum, Tokyo, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue
of the practice of regular training hunts outside Beijing that Seikadō zō Shinchō tōji. Keitokuchin kanyō no bi [Qing dynasty
had been introduced by his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor porcelain collected in the Seikado. Beauty of Jingdezhen
(r. 1662-1722). Apparently from the third year of Qianlong’s imperial kilns], Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, 2006,
reign, he organised regular hunts in the imperial hunting p. 69, no. 59, together with a ‘hundred deer’ vase with blue
preserve at Mulan near Chengde in Rehe (Jehol), northeast handles, p. 68, no. 58.
of Beijing, whose wooded hills were renowned for their
abundance of deer. He favoured spending the summer months ‘Hundred deer’, or ‘hundred fortunes’, vases are more typically
at Mulan so much that it became similar to a temporary known with red-enamelled handles, like the present piece. A
summer capital, where he frequently received envoys in the vase of this design in the Shanghai Museum is illustrated in
imperial yellow yurt. Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics],
Shanghai, 1999, vol. 15, pl. 17 and on the dust jacket; one, from
Court painters were regularly ordered to Mulan to record the the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, is published in
imperial hunts in these enchanting hills in paintings, and it is The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum.
precisely this scenery that seems to be depicted on ‘hundred Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille
deer’ vases such as the present. Several paintings of the Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 85; another, from the
hunting genre are known from the Italian Jesuit court painter Grandidier Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is illustrated
Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining, 1688-1766), such as Deer in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 7,
Hunting Patrol, The Qianlong Emperor Chasing Deer, or The Tokyo, 1981, no. 190; a vase from the collection of Stevenson
Qianlong Emperor on a Hunting Trip. His intricately composed, Burke was sold in these rooms, 8th May 1980, lot 248,
lively depictions of animals in idealised landscapes, rendered included in the exhibition 100 Masterpieces of Imperial Chinese
in a naturalistic and precise, academic painting style, clearly Ceramics from the Au Bak Ling Collection, Royal Academy of
influenced the porcelain painters who enamelled these vases. Arts, London, 1998; and a fifth example was sold in our New
York rooms, 16th March 2016, lot 321. A vase of this type
According to historical records, vases of this type were made but with handles covered in blue enamel, also in the Palace
in the first years of Qianlong and may have been designed Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong.
to coincide with the reinstitution of the imperial hunt. Liao Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong,
Pao Show quotes an entry in the Huo Ji Dang, which contains 1989, p. 338, pl. 19.
records of work commissioned for the Qing imperial family
136 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
