Page 10 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings
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          PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF A PRIVATE SOUTHEAST ASIAN   清十八世紀
          COLLECTOR
                                                     青花釉裏紅高士四藝圖洗口瓶
          A FINE AND LARGE UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND
          COPPER-RED ‘SEVEN SAGES OF THE BAMBOO
          GROVE’ VASE
          QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
          well decorated with a continuous scene of the Seven Sages of
          the Bamboo Grove with attendants nearby, one figure depicted
          playing the qin whilst another three are gathered around a
          game of chess, between finely rendered friezes encircling the
          waisted neck and splayed foot, all below a further floral scroll
          band along the rim and painted in underglaze blue with accents
          picked out in copper red
          48 cm, 18⅞ in.
          HK$ 800,000-1,000,000
          US$ 104,000-130,000

          This large vase, finely painted with an idyllic scene depicting
          the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, demonstrates the
          technical proficiency of the 18th century craftsmen. Not only is
          the painting on the vessel precisely and meticulously executed
          with fine details rendered in copper red, the skillful control
          of the highly unstable copper-red pigment is exceptionally
          impressive as it could easily run or fire to a much less striking
          tone during the firing process.
          The form of the current vase is likely to be modelled on the
          cylindrical rouleau vases made popular during the Kangxi reign,
          with the straight outlines of the prototypes replaced with more
          rounded and generous proportions. The portrayal of the Seven
          Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of scholars of the Wei
          dynasty (220-265) who had renounced their official status
          and career in protest against corruption, is a popular subject
          in the 18th century and one that reflects the way in which
          contemporaneous ideology was heavily steeped in Daoist
          beliefs and thoughts.
          While no identical example depicting the Seven Sages of the
          Bamboo Grove appears to be recorded, there are comparable
          examples similarly decorated with Daoist motifs. See a slightly
          shorter example with a less bulbous body and decorated with
          the Three Star Gods, sold in these rooms, 28th November
          2019, lot 15, from the collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee. Compare
          also two slightly shorter examples with Qianlong seal marks
          and of the period, the first (46.2 cm) decorated with deer
          and pine trees from the Wang Xing Lou collection, published
          in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese
          Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 27; and the other (45 cm)
          painted with the Three Star Gods, from the collection of Ernest
          Grandidier, now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, no. G 4280.











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