Two rare sections from a famille rose altar garniture
Yongzheng seal marks and of the period
The first, the body of the a famille rose yellow-ground hexagonal vase with a silver plated rim, relief moulded on each recessed facet with a Buddhist altar vase with possibly crossed pomegranates, the panels bordered by flower heads and gilt leaves on a shaded black ground, below the outward-curved shoulder moulded with birds above gilt swags suspended from foliate scrolls issuing from the foliate spandrels at the corners which are repeated below on the similarly shaped waisted collar with upright petals, underglaze-blue six-character Yongzheng seal mark reserved on turquoise ground, 22cm (8⅝in) high; and the foot of probably a candlestick, modelled as three scrolling legs rising to the pedestalled section with scrolling lotus and flowers, the sides with a moulded oval frame with flowerheads enclosing crossed pomegranates, flanked by moulded foliate scrolls, repeated on the legs, all reserved on a turquoise ground, underglaze-blue four-character Yongzheng seal mark, silver plated cover.
Base, 18.2cm (7⅛in) wide. (3).
The first, the body of the a famille rose yellow-ground hexagonal vase with a silver plated rim, relief moulded on each recessed facet with a Buddhist altar vase with possibly crossed pomegranates, the panels bordered by flower heads and gilt leaves on a shaded black ground, below the outward-curved shoulder moulded with birds above gilt swags suspended from foliate scrolls issuing from the foliate spandrels at the corners which are repeated below on the similarly shaped waisted collar with upright petals, underglaze-blue six-character Yongzheng seal mark reserved on turquoise ground, 22cm (8⅝in) high; and the foot of probably a candlestick, modelled as three scrolling legs rising to the pedestalled section with scrolling lotus and flowers, the sides with a moulded oval frame with flowerheads enclosing crossed pomegranates, flanked by moulded foliate scrolls, repeated on the legs, all reserved on a turquoise ground, underglaze-blue four-character Yongzheng seal mark, silver plated cover.
Base, 18.2cm (7⅛in) wide. (3).
Sold for
£102,000
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance: A German private collection, purchased on 1 August 1967 at Carl F. Schlűter, Hamburg, where the present lot was described as a Chinese koro
A German private collection
The complete garniture of which the present lot would have been a part, would have most likely included two vases, a censer and two candlesticks, as suggested by S.W.Bushell, Oriental Ceramic Art, 1980 ed., pl.XX, illustrating a pair of similar vases from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. However, whilst very few examples of the vases and censer have been offered at auction, it would seem that there is no existing example in a public collection or offered at auction of a candlestick. Therefore, the present base of a candlestick, would appear to be the sole known surviving element of this particular part of the garniture.
The Yongzheng period is renowned for introducing significant innovations to porcelain design, led by Tang Ying, who supervised and designed porcelain for the Jingdezhen Imperial workshops while he worked at the Court in Beijing. The superb quality and innovation of the construction and design, as well as the European influence on both elements, point to the possibility that the garniture was indeed designed or approved by Tang Ying.
Compare a part garniture, comprising two vase and a censer from the collection of Colonel H.S.Stern, sold at Christie's London, 7 April 1982, lot 62; and see a censer, probably the one noted above, sold at China Guardian, 12 May 2007, lot 1778. A vase of this form, with the same design on an overall turquoise ground and with a four-character Yongzheng seal mark, is in the Shanghai Museum; see Chugoku toji zenshu, vol.21, Kyoto, 1981, pl.99; and see also a similar vase sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2007, lot 507.
Lot heading
FAMILLE ROSE PORCELAIN
The property of a German collector
Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art
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