Page 418 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION

1406
A TRANSFERWARE BOTTLE VASE, YUHUCHUNPING
DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO CYCLICAL RENXU YEAR (1982),
‘DAFENG TANG’ SEAL MARK WITHIN A SQUARE IN
UNDERGLAZE BLUE
The elegant vase is decorated with a blossoming prunus branch and a poem
referring to the scene, followed by a cyclical date renxu (1982), a signature,
Zhang Yuan, and two red seals, ‘Zhang Yuan’ and ‘Daqian fu’.
9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) high
$6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE
Gift to the current owner from Ho Hao-t’ien (1920-2009), Director of
the National Museum of History, Taipei (in ofice 1973-1985).
The seal mark on the base of the vase, Dafengtang, was the hallmark
of Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1988-1983). Well-known for his
accomplishments in classic as well as modernist/expressionist Chinese ink
paintings, Zhang has become one of the most successful artists in the world.
This vase belonged to a group of identical vases made by the Taiwanese
potter Tsai Hsiao Fang (b. 1938) around 1982, under the commission of
Zhang, as souvenirs to his families and close friends. A self-proclaimed
meichi, ‘an addict to prunus,’ Zhang’s penchant for prunus is evident from the
giant boulder once placed in his garden inscribed with his own inscription
titled Meiqiu (Prunus hall) and the prunus trees surrounding it, as well as in
his paintings, such as the one shown on the present vase. The painting and
calligraphy on the body of the vase are by the artist’s hand and were then
transfer-printed to the surface of the vase.
An identical vase, previously in the Zande Lou Collection, and thence gifted
to The Chinese University of Hong Kong, is illustrated by P. Lam in Elegant
Vessels for the Lofty Pavilion, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 32. Another identical
vase was sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 1278.
壬戌年（1982） 梅紋玉壺春瓶 「大風堂」篆書款

(mark)

(inscription)

416