Page 65 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

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AN EXTREMELY RARE FAMILLE-ROSE ‘LOTUS’ 清乾隆 粉彩纏枝蓮紋筆筒
BRUSHPOT 《大清乾隆年製》款
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG
the base with a six-character seal mark in iron red, Japanese 來源
wood box (3) 大阪私人收藏
Height 5⅝ in., 14.4 cm

PROVENANCE
Osaka Private Collection.
This charming, intricately decorated vessel is distinctive for
its colorful pastel-toned enamels painted against a white
ground. Porcelain brushpots from the Qianlong period (1736-
95) were more often found adorned with classical paintings
or calligraphies. See, for example, a smaller one inscribed
with an imperial poem preserved in the National Palace
Museum, Taipei (accession no. gu-ci-016091).
Western designs, such as stylized and symmetrically
arranged strapwork, were introduced to the Qing court
(1644-1911) during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). Stylistically,
the decoration of the present vessel, which elegantly
combines European decorative elements with Chinese
auspicious motifs such as stylized lotus and endless knots,
is representative of the Qianlong reign. Although famille-rose
vessels were decorated on various colored grounds at the
time, the use of the white porcelain for the ground is unusual
during the Qianlong period. This distinctive palette suggests
that the present vase may have been created to individual
order rather than as part of a larger series.
Similarly decorated brushpots continued to be appreciated
in later reigns; see one of Jiaqing mark and period, but of
turquoise ground, hexagonal form and lacking the refinement
of the present piece, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing
(accession no. gu-155139).
$ 100,000-150,000

126 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10917 127