Page 143 - Bonham's Asian Art London November 2015

338 335 (View of base)
A RARE AND UNUSUAL SILVER- ASIAN ART | 141
MOUNTED CELADON-GROUND FAMILLE
ROSE SECTION OF A REVOLVING VASE
Qianlong/Jiaqing, the silver mount dated 1809
The beaker-shaped neck section encircled
with two bands of leaf lappets, C-scrolls and
archaistic roundels, the mouth rim with a
foliate and lozenge border above tassels, the
fitted silver base engraved with a matching
border design enclosing a central armorial
device.
30cm (11 3/4in) high (2).

£1,000 - 1,500
CNY9,700 - 15,000
HK$12,000 - 18,000

The silver mount of the present lot, hallmarked
for James Ruell of London, 1809, is evidence
that the object, or indeed the original vase,
reached the United Kingdom by this early
date. Export porcelain from China continued
to flow into Europe after 1800 but Imperial
wares were still extremely rare objects until
the mid-19th century in the aftermath of the
Opium Wars. A notable early exception being
the gifts brought back from China by the
Macartney Embassy of 1793. For an Imperial
Ru-type vase, Qianlong mark and of the
period, evidently imported into France in the
mid-18th century see Christie’s 5 July 2012
lot 29.
The specific association of the porcelain and
dated mount is confirmed by the repetition
of the mouth rim’s lozenge motif engraved
round the outside of the silver mount. The
hallmark on the base is partial, suggesting
that the mouth rim may have also received a
complimentary mount. Occupying the centre
of the base is an unusual combination of
a pierced ermine cinquefoil surrounding a
crossed patance Or, and most likely relates
to the Astley family - the head of the family
in 1809 being John Dugdale Astley (1778-
1842) of Everly, Wiltshire. For related armorial
porcelain dating from the Qianlong period see
D.S. Howard, Chinese Armorial Porcelain,
London 1974, p.721, pl.V14.
The shape and size of the present lot
indicates it would have crowned a
magnificently proportioned bottle vase. The
Western-style lozenge pattern and tasselled
ermine at the mouth rim can also be seen
on several examples of Imperial porcelain,
Qianlong mark and of the period, in the Qing
Court Collection, see The Complete Collection
of the Treasures of the Palace Museum:
Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration
and Famille Rose Decoration, Beijing 2009,
p.37 & 39.