Page 67 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

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A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE LARGE CLOISONNÉ Cloisonné enamel vases of this shape and decoration
ENAMEL ‘DRAGON’ VASE (TIANQIUPING) continued to be produced throughout the Qing dynasty.
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY See for example a tianqiuping with the Nine Dragons
motif against waves, attributed to the late Qing dynasty,
Height 21¾ in., 55.3 cm illustrated in Zhongguo jin yin boli falangqi quanji [Complete
collection of Chinese gold, silver, glass and enamel objects],
PROVENANCE Shijiazhuang, 2002, pl. 278.
Collection of Helen Phelps Stokes Merrill (1905-2004),
probably acquired from her father, Isaac Newton Phelps $ 150,000-250,000
Stokes (1867-1944), a famous New York architect.
This vase is remarkable in many ways: its powerful and 清十八世紀
dynamic depiction of dragons chasing a ‘Flaming Pearl,’ its
fine workmanship and, above all, its monumental size. It 銅胎掐絲琺瑯蒼龍教子紋天球瓶
displays the great technical advancements made in the 18th
century in the production of cloisonné ware, which resulted in 來源
the development of numerous enamel colors, including more Helen Phelps Stokes Merrill (1905-2004) 收藏，應得自
than twenty opaque ones. Here the writhing scaly bodies of 其父，即著名紐約建築師 Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes
the mighty dragons are enameled in tones of red and pink, (1867-1944)
while billowing clouds are rendered in two tones of blue
against a light blue ground.
The lively composition of this piece and the remarkable
shading in the reds and blues were clearly inspired by a
painted porcelain piece. Tianqiuping painted with dragons
were made in the Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735) and Qianlong (r.
1736-1795) reigns and were in turn inspired by early Ming
(1368-1644) prototypes. Two Qianlong mark and period
tianqiuping, painted with a related motif in underglaze
blue and copper red, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, are
illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the
Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze
Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pls 210 and 211, the latter of similar
proportions to the present piece.
Cloisonné enamel vases of such large proportions and
decorated with this motif are unusual and no other closely
related example appears to be recorded. A vase of similar
dimensions, with the dragons rendered in a more painterly
manner, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd October
2017, lot 9; and another with blue dragons among clouds of
various colours, from the collection of Sir Peter Moores, was
sold twice in our London rooms, 12th June 1990, lot 52, and
9th November 2011, lot 401. A smaller vase of this form and
with red dragons against blue and white clouds, in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections
in the Palace Museum. Enamels, vol. 3, Cloisonne in the
Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl. 102; and two much smaller
examples were sold in our Hong Kong rooms, the first from
the collections of Kenneth Malcolm and Roger Keverne, 5th
October 2016, lot 9, and the second, 1st June 2015, lot 658.

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