Page 86 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017
P. 86
EMANATING FROM
ANTIQUITY:
AN IMPORTANT
DRAGON AND
PHOENIX VASE
The Qing Emperors’ quest to justify their right as a foreign Animal-head handles of these archaic bronzes experienced
dynasty to rule China inspired their deep reverence for a renaissance under the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors,
antiquity and eagerness to manifest their power and flanking vases of related hu form and interlocking dragon
benevolence through works of art. In their diligent study of designs in various materials. Qianlong examples of these
the imperial art collection and renewed patronage of the arts, vessels include a champlevé vase in the Palace Museum,
they heralded a resurgence of creativity that was inspired by Beijing, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace
antiquity. The present vase is an archetypal and exemplary Museum. Enamels, vol. 3, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty,
product of imperially commissioned Qing art. Beijing, 2011, pl. 85; another sold at Bonhams London, 6th
November 2006, lot 190, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong,
According to imperial records, the Qianlong Emperor urged 29th May 2013, lot 2068; a spinach-green jade vase, from
craftsmen working in the imperial workshops to follow the the S. Bulgari Collection, sold in our London rooms, 2nd
styles and specifications recorded in ancient catalogues. The November 1984, lot 489, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong,
shape and design of the present vase provide an immediate 1st December 2010, lot 3158; and a blue and white vase
reference to the great works of the Bronze Age of China, decorated with flowerscrolls, published in S.T. Yeo and Jean
particularly that of the Zhou (c. 1046-221 BC) period, for Martin, Chinese Blue and White Ceramics, Singapore, 1978,
example see one attributed to the early Eastern Zhou period col. pl. 20. For a Yongzheng mark and period example, see a
(early 8th century BC) in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, celadon-glazed vase, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included
Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., published in Eastern in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace
Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 276, pl. 105. While
III, New York, 1995, pl. 37; and another in the National Palace the handles of these vases retain some resemblance with the
Museum, Taipei, attributed to the Western Zhou dynasty (c. Zhou prototype through the almond-shaped eyes and spiralling
1046-771 BC), illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Bronze in horns, the two horns have been merged into one in the Qing
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1969, pl. 35. versions. Interestingly, the handles on the present vase have
been stylised to a mere silhouette to appear almost abstract,
The handles in the Sackler fanghu are described as ‘dragon with geometric scrolls replacing the eyes and a much larger
heads’, a type that was characterised by their spiralling horns. horn. For a Zhou dynasty vessel with a pair of double-horned
First produced in the Zhou period, the use of handles in the mythical beast handles, see the line drawings published in
form of mythical animals was crucial to the overall early Xiqing gujian [Catalogue of Chinese ritual bronzes in the
Zhou style which placed a new emphasis on relief effects. collection of the Qianlong Emperor], juan 20, pl. 5 (fig. 1).
84 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
