Page 34 - Bonhams, FIne Chinese Art, Linda Wrigglesworth Collection, May 13, 2021 London

24
A RARE WUCAI ‘SAGE AND DEER’ VASE
Shunzhi
The tall body boldly decorated around the exterior with a continuous
scene of an elderly bearded sage standing beside a deer and
accompanied by two attendants carrying baskets of peaches and
lingzhi fungus, all amidst a rocky landscape with bamboo and wispy
clouds, and a poetic couplet, all beneath a cracked-ice band, the
cylindrical neck with flowers and insects.
38.3cm (15 1/8in) high.

£35,000 - 45,000
CNY: 316,000 – 406,000

清順治 五彩「華封三祝」圖瓶

Provenance: an English private collection

來源：英國私人收藏

The inscription reads ‘具慶堂中歌兒美，華封庭下祝三多’,
Which may be translated as:
‘The song in Juqing Hall sings beautifully, and Huafeng brings three
auspicious wishes’

This couplet comes from the ancient philosophical text known as the
Zhuangzi, where in the ‘Heaven and Earth’ chapter, Tang Yao, the
Heavenly King, visited Shaanxi Province, and the old man of Hua -
Huafeng - blessed Yao with longevity, wealth and more children. The
present lot possibly depicts the old man of Hua beside the deer (lu 鹿),
which also has the auspicious symbolism of ‘emolument’ or an official
salary (lu 祿).

This vase is particularly rare for its elongated neck. A related wucai
vase, Shunzhi, featuring a similar baluster form but a more common
shorter and waisted neck, decorated with a figural scene beneath a
cracked-ice band is illustrated by M.Butler, J.B.Curtis and S.Little,
Shunzhi Porcelain, 1644-1661, Alexandria VA, 2002, p.207, pl.64.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
32 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.