Page 38 - Bonhams NYC Chinese works of Art March 2019

The quail bowls, illustrated in J.Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur A Yongzheng mark and period pot with two quail in falangcai
Collection, vol.2, Geneva, 1999, p.114, no.227 (A598) painted enamels; image courtesy of the National Palace Museum
Image courtesy of the Baur Foundation, Geneva Collection, Taipei

in contentment’. The decorative combination therefore forms the Studies), illustrated by Xiangping Li, ‘Flower and Bird Painting in
phrase An ju le ye which may be interpreted as meaning ‘May you live Ancient China’, Singapore, 2007, p. 106. Compare also two famille
in peace and work in contentment’. This pun is shared by both the rose dishes, Yongzheng marks and of the period, exhibiting a
present Hobart bowls and the Chicago bowl, as one of the quail in the comparable treatment of blossoming chrysanthemums as seen on
Chicago bowl is enamelled holding a leaf in its beak, further reinforcing the present bowls, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures
the proximity in date of production. Furthermore, drawing its inspiration of the Palace Museum: Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration
from earlier periods, quail and chrysanthemums were a popular theme and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, nos. 58 and 59. See
within the much celebrated ‘bird-and-flower’ painting genre of the also a related famille rose ‘chrysanthemum’ dish, Yongzheng mark and
Song dynasty; see for example the painting attributed to Li Anzhong period, which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, November 30 2016,
(active 1119-1162), titled Ye ju qiu chun (Wild Chrysanthemums and lot 3219.
Autumn Quail), in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by
He Chuanxin, Dynastic Renaissance: Art and Culture of the Southern The blossoming chrysanthemum branches extend over the rim of each
Song – Painting and Calligraphy, Taipei, 2010, p. 235, no. II-30. This of the bowls continuing well into their interior. This technique, known
genre was revived by the Yongzheng emperor and represented on as guoqiangzhi (branch passing over the wall), a homophone of the
Imperial porcelain under the direction of Tang Ying (1682-1756), the phrase ‘Eternal Governance’, appears to have first developed towards
celebrated superintendent of the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. the end of the Ming dynasty and won Imperial favor at the court of the
Qing emperors. A surviving record from the workshops of the Imperial
The elegant rendering of blossoming chrysanthemums, depicted Household Department, the Zaobanchu, relates to the Yongzheng
in various stages of bloom on the present bowls, were very likely emperor’s interest in the ‘long branch’ design, mentioning that ‘On
inspired by the celebrated paintings of Yun Shouping (1633-1690) the 19th day, 4th month, Yongzheng 9th year... His Majesty ordered
and his unique manner of combining bold colors and washes to glazed and unglazed porcelain decorated with the enameled design of
emphasize the distinct beauty of flowers; see for example Shan shui the Everlasting Tranquility and Eternal Governance (...)’. The ingenious
hua hui ce (Album of Mountains, Waters, Flowers and Grasses), in the design – distinctive on the present pair of bowls and absent on the
collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Lu Chenglong, above-mentioned examples of bowls decorated with quail and nandina
‘Yongzheng yuyao ciqi gaishu (A Brief Account of Yongzheng Period – was challenging to accomplish. This was due to the convex surface
Imperial Porcelain)’, in Gugong bowuyuan bashi huadan gu taoci guoji of bowls and restricted working space, which would have required
xueshu yantaohui lunwen ji, Beijing, 2007, p. 212, fig. 26. highly accomplished skills of a master craftsman. Impeccably executed
Similarly, the juxtaposition of light and dark hues decorating the on the present bowls this design allows for each side of the vessel to
chrysanthemum petals and the great realism devoted to outlining be viewed as a complete design in its own right.
the veins of their leaves on the porcelain medium evoked a similar
layering and rich volumetric effects as noted on the illustrious painting
style of Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766); see Xian E Chang Chun
Tu (Everlasting Verdure of the Immortal Calyx: An Album of Flower

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