Page 87 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017

g. 1
Xiqing gujian [Catalogue of Chinese ritual bronzes in the
collection of the Qianlong Emperor], juan 20, pl. 5
It is notable that even the S-shape of the front-facing dragon
on the present vase has been inspired by the Zhou prototype,
rst adorning ceramics from the Ming dynasty and a favourite
motif of Qianlong. Two line drawings of related bronze fanghu
from the Zhou dynasty were published in the Xiqing gujian,
juan. 19, pls 4 and 5. The twisting curves of the dragon’s body, moon asks of large size can also be found with similarly
from the neck that loops above the head to the broad bends of
the body and tail, have been composed by combining the two
bodies of the Zhou interlocking dragon into one. This design is
a marvellous example of the ingenuity of Chinese craftsmen
and their ability to reference archaic designs and render
them in radically innovative designs suited to the taste of the
Emperor. In doing so, they not only brought honour to China’s
glorious past, but also to the emperors themselves.
Large vessels decorated with a comparable ferocious image
of a dragon amongst clouds are well-known from the Qianlong
period; see a pair of vases anked with elephant-head handles,
the dragons painted in pink enamel and in mirror image of
each other, in the Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, included in the
Museum’s exhibition Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors –
Treasures of the Chinese Jingdezhen Kiln, Tokyo, 2003, cat.
no. 82 ( g. 2). Compare also an impressive blue and white
moon ask, in the Qing court collection and still in Beijing,
published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III),
Shanghai, 2000, pl. 132; and two further moon asks sold in
these rooms, 29th October 2001, lot 543, and 8th October
© IDEMITSU MUSEUM OF ARTS, TOKYO
g. 2
A pair of blue and white and overglaze-red ‘dragon’ vases,
seal marks and period of Qianlong
© Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo
2009, lot 1701. Another Qianlong moon ask painted with a
similar dragon, but the body twisting to the left, was sold in
our London rooms, 7th November 2007, lot 407; and a doucai
version, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, was included
in the exhibition China. Three Emperors 1660-1795, The
Royal Academy of Art, London, 2005, cat. no. 217. Qianlong
rendered dragon and phoenix designs in a circular panel; see a
pair, one of which sold in these rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 510,
and the other 23rd October 2005, lot 212.
The striking style in which the phoenix has been painted,
remarkably rendered to capture the softness of the feathers,
in direct contrast to the scaly dragons, resembles pink enamel
versions set against underglaze blue scrolls; for example see
a moon ask in the Matsuoka Art Museum, Tokyo, published
in John Ayers and M. Sato, Sekai toji zenshu/Ceramic Art of
the World, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pls 92 and 93; and its pair sold
in these rooms, 24th November 1987, lot 189, sold again at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st December 2010, lot 2968, from the
Shorenstein Collection. As the ‘king of birds’, the phoenixes
add further grandeur and imperial associations to this vase
while contributing to the lavish aesthetic that was so favoured
by the Emperor.
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