Bonhams 1793 : A pair of famille rose oval jardinières Early 20th century, Hongxian yuzhi four-character marks

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8 Nov 2012 10:00 GMT London, New Bond Street
Fine Chinese Art
Back to auction 20024

This lot is being sold under the Alpha Scheme

A pair of famille rose oval jardinières

Early 20th century, Hongxian yuzhi four-character marks
Each raised on four short lobed feet and painted on the exterior with sprays of flowers including peony, lily, prunus, magnolia, chrysanthemum and hydrangea in delicate shades of pink, blue, green, orange and purple, all reserved on a yellow-enamel sgraffiato ground, the rim with a leiwen band, the interior and base glazed turquoise. Each 26cm (10¼in) wide (2).

Sold for £25,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

二十世紀早期黃地粉彩花卉紋花盆一對藍彩「洪憲御製」楷書款

Following the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the statesman and general Yuan Shikai attempted to reinstate monarchy in China from late 1915 to early 1916, adopting the reign name of Hongxian. The turbulence of the times ensured that the reign was brief, and porcelain production very limited, and it is therefore highly unusual to find pieces with the Hongxian reign mark.

The prototype for this piece may be found in the delicate famille rose palettes, floral motifs and jardinière form favoured for the Da ya zhai pieces produced for the Dowager Empress Cixi during the Guangxu reign. Compare the two jardinières with Da ya zhai marks from the Palace Museum Beijing, illustrated by Guo Xingkuan and Wang Guangyao, Guanyang Yuci, Beijing, 2007, p.205.

See a related large narcissus bowl with floral decoration reserved on a purple-red sgraffiato ground, also marked Hongxian yuzhi in blue and of the period, illustrated by H.A.Van Oort in Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th century, Lochem, 1977, pl.172.

Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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