Footnotes

• Provenance:
  George Edwin Burnell (1863-1948) was a noted scholar and philosopher of mysticism of all varieties. The lectures delivered at his home in Arcadia drew omnivorously from both Eastern and Western esoterica. Mimeographed copies of these lectures remained best sellers for years after his death: 'The Miracles of Candidacy' and 'Meditation: Super-Practice' being just two examples of the numerous courses still in print.
  
  Thus Professor Burnell would have perhaps loved the fact that the phrase 'tianqiuping' means literally 'a celestial orb vase.' It is a shape that has been part of the vocabulary of the Chinese potter since the early Ming dynasty. The current lot presents an explosion of various decorative motifs, perhaps representative of the decadent final flourishing of the imperial kilns during the twilight of the Qing dynasty.
  
  For other examples of similarly dense and baroque-influenced late Qing scroll work, see the blue and white square vase with birds and flowers in the Beijing Palace Museum collection dated to the Tongzhi reign (Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Daxi: Qinghua Youlihong (Shang) Shanghai Kexue Jishu Chuban She, Shangwu Yinshuguan (Hong Kong), Geng Baochang ed., pg. 169). The Beijing Museum collection also has numerous other examples of 19th century pieces with similar high quality kiln and glaze control, many of which stand well in comparison with their 18th century high Qing prototypes.

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Category: Asian Art

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