Page 43 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art 09/13/17

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AN EXTREMELY RARE COPPER-RED MING- Qianlong jars of this type are more commonly known in
STYLE CYLINDRICAL JAR underglaze blue, such as one in the Shanghai Museum,
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD Shanghai, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Qingdai Yongzheng-
Xuantong guanyao ciqi [Qing Dynasty O cial Wares from the
rising from a slightly splayed foot to a slightly ared mouth, Yongzheng to the Xuantong Reign], Shanghai, 2014, pl. 4-11
the gently rounded sides nely painted with a broad band of a (left); one in the Hangzhou Tu Huo Zhai Museum of Antique
dense geometric pattern of cell diapers enclosing lotus sprays, Ceramics, Hangzhou, included in the exhibition Treasures of
spiky orets, leaf and lozenge motifs, tessellating to form Imperial Porcelain, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou,
star-shaped panels, framed above and below by foliate scroll 2011, p. 102; a pair, from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold
bands, with borders of demi- ower heads at the foot and neck, in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd May 1994, lot 173; and a further
the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue pair sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1999, lot 798.
Height 7 in., 17.8 cm
Compare also Qianlong mark and period moon asks painted
Copper red-decorated jars of this type are extremely rare and in copper red with a similar design: one in the collection of C.P.
this piece, with its meticulously executed design in vibrant red, Lin, included in the exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious
boasts the technical advances made at the imperial kilns in Decoration, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London,
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province during the Qianlong period while 1992, cat. no. 171; another included in the Min Chiu Society
referencing revered wares of the past. A highly temperamental exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong
pigment, copper-red glazes had largely been abandoned Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 118; and a third sold
since the early Ming dynasty and were revived and drastically in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 370.
improved in the early Qing period, starting in the Kangxi
reign. It is under the Qianlong Emperor, however, that ever $ 200,000-300,000
more complex designs painted with almost pencilled lines in
underglaze red began to appear.

Both the form and decoration of this piece are modeled after
Yongle (1403-1424) prototypes, which were themselves
inspired by Middle Eastern designs. The highly complex motif
of concentric geometric enclosures radiating from a multi-
faceted six-pointed star required careful calculation and
composing before painting in order for it to succeed visually,
especially on a round surface. This motif probably originated in
Middle Eastern works on paper, such as a 14th century Quran
painted in Iran, illustrated in Regina Krahl, ‘Chinese Designs:
The Fluidity of the Brush’, Chinese Art from the Reach Family
Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1989, p. 11, g. 7. For a Yongle
prototype of this form and motif, see a blue and white jar in the
Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain
with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 43.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 41