Chinese Porcelain
See also : China Song to Yuan porcelain Ming porcelain Qing porcelain Northern Song Early Ming Later Ming Early Qing Qianlong Bird Dragon
Chronology : 1000-1300 15th century 1430-1459 1480-1499 16th century 1540-1569 18th century 1710-1719 1720-1729 1740-1749 1750-1759
Chronology : 1000-1300 15th century 1430-1459 1480-1499 16th century 1540-1569 18th century 1710-1719 1720-1729 1740-1749 1750-1759
Perfection and Diversity of the Ru Ware
2017 SOLD for HK$ 294M including premium
The Ru ware manufactured 900 years ago in present-day Henan province is the most prestigious of all Chinese porcelain for various causes related to the technological development, to the taste of their time and to chance.
By a positioning on tiny studs during cooking without turning the piece upside down, the glaze savings that so displeased at the court of the Northern Song are avoided. The celadon color of which several shades are available equals the refinement of the jade. In the fashion of that time perfect proportions and minimalism are preferred to the complexity of shapes.
Located on what was to become a border zone between north and south, the Ru kilns did not survive the fall of the Northern Song. Their undocumented activity which was perhaps not in the service of the court had only lasted about two decades.
A quarter of a century after the fall of the Northern Song a courtier presents to the Gaozong Emperor of the Southern Song a significant group of Ru ware. The Emperor who was just managing to restore the legendary refinement of his dynasty admires the exceptional quality of these porcelains and especially some pieces whose surface has a texture like ice crackles. This effect modeling the creation of minerals in nature is appreciated as sensational. It was related to the chance of the cooling conditions in the Ru kilns but the Southern Song potters discovered the conditions to be applied to create such a texture at will.
87 pieces of Ru porcelain of the Northern Song are known. Four of them are in private hands.
On April 4, 2012 Sotheby's sold for HK $ 208M including premium over a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a brush washer 13.5 cm in diameter slightly lobed with a smooth texture and a pale color which is close to jade.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 5 a 13 cm round brush washer This intense blue-green piece has an exceptionally shiny crackled surface. The press release of August 22 announces that it is expected in excess of HK $ 100M. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
By a positioning on tiny studs during cooking without turning the piece upside down, the glaze savings that so displeased at the court of the Northern Song are avoided. The celadon color of which several shades are available equals the refinement of the jade. In the fashion of that time perfect proportions and minimalism are preferred to the complexity of shapes.
Located on what was to become a border zone between north and south, the Ru kilns did not survive the fall of the Northern Song. Their undocumented activity which was perhaps not in the service of the court had only lasted about two decades.
A quarter of a century after the fall of the Northern Song a courtier presents to the Gaozong Emperor of the Southern Song a significant group of Ru ware. The Emperor who was just managing to restore the legendary refinement of his dynasty admires the exceptional quality of these porcelains and especially some pieces whose surface has a texture like ice crackles. This effect modeling the creation of minerals in nature is appreciated as sensational. It was related to the chance of the cooling conditions in the Ru kilns but the Southern Song potters discovered the conditions to be applied to create such a texture at will.
87 pieces of Ru porcelain of the Northern Song are known. Four of them are in private hands.
On April 4, 2012 Sotheby's sold for HK $ 208M including premium over a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a brush washer 13.5 cm in diameter slightly lobed with a smooth texture and a pale color which is close to jade.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 5 a 13 cm round brush washer This intense blue-green piece has an exceptionally shiny crackled surface. The press release of August 22 announces that it is expected in excess of HK $ 100M. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
900-year-old dish to smash US$36 million auction world record for Chinese antiques https://t.co/U56WqVJCQB pic.twitter.com/H7bBHIqiIv
— SCMP News (@SCMP_News) August 24, 2017
The Kilns of the Northern Song
2012 SOLD 208 MHK$ including premium
In the history of mankind, artistic refinement is not a matter of continuous improvement, as one might believe. The chemical secret of the Imperial ceramics of the Northern Song is lost for a long time, and the quality of the smooth and translucent glaze using agate powder will never be equaled.
The best production center was known as the Ru kilns, Ru yao in Chinese. Ru ceramics are very rare because this operation lasted only a few years, 900 years ago during Zhezong and Huizong periods and was stopped by the fall of the dynasty. The site of the Ru yao, lost since the Yuan, was located in 1987 in Henan Province and excavated in 2000.
The classic color of Ru is a very pale blue-green jade imitation. A specimen in very good condition is for sale on April 4 in Hong Kong by Sotheby's. This is a washer of 13.5 cm in diameter that could be used to rinse the brushes after writing. The form is also interesting. The edge is pinched in six locations, simulating the petals of a flower.
This washer was known long before the rediscovery of the site. It is estimated HK $ 60M. It is illustrated on Sotheby's website page announcing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of ceramics had caused great excitement in the weeks preceding the sale. It demonstrates an exceptional technical mastery despite its earliness, probably inimitable since the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.
It was sold HK $ 208 million including premium.
The best production center was known as the Ru kilns, Ru yao in Chinese. Ru ceramics are very rare because this operation lasted only a few years, 900 years ago during Zhezong and Huizong periods and was stopped by the fall of the dynasty. The site of the Ru yao, lost since the Yuan, was located in 1987 in Henan Province and excavated in 2000.
The classic color of Ru is a very pale blue-green jade imitation. A specimen in very good condition is for sale on April 4 in Hong Kong by Sotheby's. This is a washer of 13.5 cm in diameter that could be used to rinse the brushes after writing. The form is also interesting. The edge is pinched in six locations, simulating the petals of a flower.
This washer was known long before the rediscovery of the site. It is estimated HK $ 60M. It is illustrated on Sotheby's website page announcing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of ceramics had caused great excitement in the weeks preceding the sale. It demonstrates an exceptional technical mastery despite its earliness, probably inimitable since the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.
It was sold HK $ 208 million including premium.
Xuande - The Blue Fishes
2017 SOLD for HK$ 230M including premium
When the emperor himself encouraged the development of porcelain techniques, the ingenuity of the Jingdezhen potters no longer had any limits. The reign of Xuande, the fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty, is one of those golden ages with spectacular progress for blue and red under glaze.
The red is still difficult to achieve and its drawing remains limited to massive silhouettes of fish or fruit. At the same time the cobalt blue is obtained in a series of tones which enable subtle contrasts. The quality of the Xuande blue and white will never be surpassed.
The sharpness of the blue drawing becomes exceptional but the iconography remains traditional. The wall of a bowl is read like a paper ink drawing being gradually unrolled. The theme of fishes moving at mid-depth amidst the aquatic weeds of a pond is well suited to such achievements.
On April 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells at lot 101 a bell-shaped bowl on that theme, 23 cm in diameter, with a ultimate refinement : it is lobed in ten sections down to the base which is also lobed in the extension. The goal is an unprecedented visual effect : the unfolding of the image before the eyes gives the impression of a gentle movement of the fish.
The lobes are not new in Chinese porcelain : washers or saucers lobed for imitating a flower had been a specialty of the fabulous Ru kilns at the end of the Northern Song dynasty.
A piece as deep as that lobed fish bowl is a technical feat : no other specimen of this form and visual effect has surfaced in such a large size. Two smaller bowls were identified in an ancient inventory of the Taipei Museum. Waste from an even smaller discarded piece was found in Jingdezhen.
It is difficult to estimate the price of such a rarity that reaches the extreme limits of the technologies known under the early Ming. The press release of March 8 hopes a result beyond HK $ 100M.
The red is still difficult to achieve and its drawing remains limited to massive silhouettes of fish or fruit. At the same time the cobalt blue is obtained in a series of tones which enable subtle contrasts. The quality of the Xuande blue and white will never be surpassed.
The sharpness of the blue drawing becomes exceptional but the iconography remains traditional. The wall of a bowl is read like a paper ink drawing being gradually unrolled. The theme of fishes moving at mid-depth amidst the aquatic weeds of a pond is well suited to such achievements.
On April 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells at lot 101 a bell-shaped bowl on that theme, 23 cm in diameter, with a ultimate refinement : it is lobed in ten sections down to the base which is also lobed in the extension. The goal is an unprecedented visual effect : the unfolding of the image before the eyes gives the impression of a gentle movement of the fish.
The lobes are not new in Chinese porcelain : washers or saucers lobed for imitating a flower had been a specialty of the fabulous Ru kilns at the end of the Northern Song dynasty.
A piece as deep as that lobed fish bowl is a technical feat : no other specimen of this form and visual effect has surfaced in such a large size. Two smaller bowls were identified in an ancient inventory of the Taipei Museum. Waste from an even smaller discarded piece was found in Jingdezhen.
It is difficult to estimate the price of such a rarity that reaches the extreme limits of the technologies known under the early Ming. The press release of March 8 hopes a result beyond HK $ 100M.
A Xuande bowl expected to fetch US$12.8mil leads #HongKong's Chinese Works of Art sales on 5 Apr #sothebysasianart https://t.co/5ILRjKHVQh pic.twitter.com/WIhR7E11Yk
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 27, 2017
Chenghua - Imperial Chickens
2014 SOLD 280 MHK$ including premium
Inactive after the reign of Xuande, the Jingdezhen kilns were reactivated three decades later by Chenghua before being stopped around the 20th year of the reign of this emperor.
The best period of Chenghua porcelains is the second decade of his reign. Improvements are made to the choice of materials, enabling a higher temperature. The apex of any ceramic art is then achieved with a dense paste, a transparent and robust glaze and an extraordinary tactile effect.
The doucai color, started under Xuande, also gets some dramatic progress under Chenghua. Mixing enameled colors over the glaze allows a wide range of shades.
The figures of Chenghua ceramics are simple and naive. However, his chicken wine cups had an almost mystical reputation. The rooster is the emperor, and the hen protecting her chicks is his favorite concubine. It is an opportunity fir the historian to remind that Wan Guifei herself intervened to improve the quality of imperial porcelains.
One of these wonders is in perfect condition, on a pristine white background, without any crack or scratch. This piece 8.2 cm in diameter is decorated underglaze in cobalt blue and multicolored on its surface.
It was sold for HK $ 29M including premium on April 27, 1999 by Sotheby's, purchased at that sale by Eskenazi. It is estimated HK $ 200M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 8.
POST SALE COMMENT
The absolute pinnacle of the art of porcelain was achieved by the Chinese Imperial pieces of the second part of the reign of Chenghua. This cup was sold for HK $ 280M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
The best period of Chenghua porcelains is the second decade of his reign. Improvements are made to the choice of materials, enabling a higher temperature. The apex of any ceramic art is then achieved with a dense paste, a transparent and robust glaze and an extraordinary tactile effect.
The doucai color, started under Xuande, also gets some dramatic progress under Chenghua. Mixing enameled colors over the glaze allows a wide range of shades.
The figures of Chenghua ceramics are simple and naive. However, his chicken wine cups had an almost mystical reputation. The rooster is the emperor, and the hen protecting her chicks is his favorite concubine. It is an opportunity fir the historian to remind that Wan Guifei herself intervened to improve the quality of imperial porcelains.
One of these wonders is in perfect condition, on a pristine white background, without any crack or scratch. This piece 8.2 cm in diameter is decorated underglaze in cobalt blue and multicolored on its surface.
It was sold for HK $ 29M including premium on April 27, 1999 by Sotheby's, purchased at that sale by Eskenazi. It is estimated HK $ 200M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 8.
POST SALE COMMENT
The absolute pinnacle of the art of porcelain was achieved by the Chinese Imperial pieces of the second part of the reign of Chenghua. This cup was sold for HK $ 280M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
Jiajing - The Carps of the Heavenly Pond
2017 SOLD for HK$ 214M including premium
The palace bowls of the Chenghua emperor were fabulous by the quality of the porcelain and their early application of polychromy but the pieces were small and the drawings were naive. A period of inactivity begins because of court protests against the onerous taste of the leading concubine for such a luxury.
The progress of Jingdezhen porcelain is restarting with the Jiajing emperor, an art lover and an adept of Taoism. Becoming emperor at the age of 14 in 1522, Jiajing reigned for 45 years. Large pieces are made under his rule, using the bright color palette identified as wucai. Wucai literally means five enamels, five having here a meaning of plurality adjusted to the five elements
This emperor liked to state that he was the fisherman of the heavenly pond. The pattern with fish swimming amidst aquatic plants enables a pleasing interweaving of the drawings on the walls of the jars and Jiajing himself promotes this theme by massive commissions. The details of the themes are related to homophonic rebuses bringing to the emperor the auspices that he so much enjoyed.
A 46 cm high jar with its cover is one of the biggest pieces of that type. It is animated by carps of two different sizes. The suspension of the fish in water allows various attitudes. The porcelain was first painted with the classical underglaze blue. The other colors were added over the glaze. Experts believe that three firings have been necessary.
Pieces which are still with their original cover are very rare in private hands. This one was sold for HK $ 44M including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2000, a very high price at that time for a Chinese porcelain. It will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, lot 8006. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The progress of Jingdezhen porcelain is restarting with the Jiajing emperor, an art lover and an adept of Taoism. Becoming emperor at the age of 14 in 1522, Jiajing reigned for 45 years. Large pieces are made under his rule, using the bright color palette identified as wucai. Wucai literally means five enamels, five having here a meaning of plurality adjusted to the five elements
This emperor liked to state that he was the fisherman of the heavenly pond. The pattern with fish swimming amidst aquatic plants enables a pleasing interweaving of the drawings on the walls of the jars and Jiajing himself promotes this theme by massive commissions. The details of the themes are related to homophonic rebuses bringing to the emperor the auspices that he so much enjoyed.
A 46 cm high jar with its cover is one of the biggest pieces of that type. It is animated by carps of two different sizes. The suspension of the fish in water allows various attitudes. The porcelain was first painted with the classical underglaze blue. The other colors were added over the glaze. Experts believe that three firings have been necessary.
Pieces which are still with their original cover are very rare in private hands. This one was sold for HK $ 44M including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2000, a very high price at that time for a Chinese porcelain. It will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, lot 8006. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
> 1711 The Workshop of the Jesuits
2018 SOLD for HK$ 240M including premium
The Kangxi Emperor and King Louis XIV had similar ambitions. They decided in 1684 to share their scientific and cultural knowledge through Jesuits who accepted the customs of imperial China. The French were interested in brocades and chopsticks and the Chinese in using enamels to cover copper and glass.
The activity is developed in a workshop of the Forbidden City under the direct control of the emperor. A new glassmaker arrived in 1695 brings with him the enamels invented by Glauber to create splendid colors with colloidal gold. The glass pieces colored with the enamel of the foreigners (in Chinese: falangcai) serve as diplomatic gifts.
The potters of Jingdezhen were working with the limited color range of the wucai for a purpose of productivity. It was tempting to apply the new colors to the porcelain for bringing more luxury to the pieces for the personal use (yuzhi) of the emperor. Chinese craftsmen joined the Jesuits of the imperial workshop around 1711 to develop a mixed technology.
Chinese porcelain was unknown in Europe and the Jesuits considered it impossible to affix the enamel over the glaze. They were supplied from Jingdezhen with incompletely glazed pieces to paint the outside wall and the base with the colors unavailable at Jingdezhen. A second heating completed the process.
One of the rarest ground colors of the falangcai is a pink with colloidal gold. Two 14.7 cm diameter bowls, each one decorated with four lobed cartridges showing flowers in front of a blue sky, were probably made side by side. They carry the yuzhi mark of Kangxi. The floral themes are however different, attesting to a close cooperation between Chinese and European artists. The bowl kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei follows the traditional Chinese auspices of the four seasons.
The other bowl is of European decoration, displaying flowers without symbolic meaning and a perspective effect that is not usual in traditional Chinese art. It will be sold by Sotheby's on April 3 in Hong Kong, lot 1. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
The yangcai will be the complete mastery of the falangcai process at Jingdezhen around the sixth year of the Yongzheng emperor, 1729 CE. The participation of foreigners will no longer be necessary.
The activity is developed in a workshop of the Forbidden City under the direct control of the emperor. A new glassmaker arrived in 1695 brings with him the enamels invented by Glauber to create splendid colors with colloidal gold. The glass pieces colored with the enamel of the foreigners (in Chinese: falangcai) serve as diplomatic gifts.
The potters of Jingdezhen were working with the limited color range of the wucai for a purpose of productivity. It was tempting to apply the new colors to the porcelain for bringing more luxury to the pieces for the personal use (yuzhi) of the emperor. Chinese craftsmen joined the Jesuits of the imperial workshop around 1711 to develop a mixed technology.
Chinese porcelain was unknown in Europe and the Jesuits considered it impossible to affix the enamel over the glaze. They were supplied from Jingdezhen with incompletely glazed pieces to paint the outside wall and the base with the colors unavailable at Jingdezhen. A second heating completed the process.
One of the rarest ground colors of the falangcai is a pink with colloidal gold. Two 14.7 cm diameter bowls, each one decorated with four lobed cartridges showing flowers in front of a blue sky, were probably made side by side. They carry the yuzhi mark of Kangxi. The floral themes are however different, attesting to a close cooperation between Chinese and European artists. The bowl kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei follows the traditional Chinese auspices of the four seasons.
The other bowl is of European decoration, displaying flowers without symbolic meaning and a perspective effect that is not usual in traditional Chinese art. It will be sold by Sotheby's on April 3 in Hong Kong, lot 1. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
The yangcai will be the complete mastery of the falangcai process at Jingdezhen around the sixth year of the Yongzheng emperor, 1729 CE. The participation of foreigners will no longer be necessary.
Yongzheng - An Archaic Dragon
2019 SOLD for RMB 147M including premium
From the 6th year of his reign matching 1728 CE, the Yongzheng emperor managed a direct control over the production of imperial porcelain. Under the supervision of Superintendent Tang Ying, most of the traditional techniques were restarted and quickly raised to a new level of perfection.
On June 5 in Beijing, Poly sells as lot 5552 a magnificent vase 51 cm high with a round body and a thick neck which is a technological feat without any relationship with the new enamel paintings brought by the foreigners.
This piece flawlessly combines an underglaze in cobalt blue and a red copper glaze which nevertheless required an extremely dissimilar firing profile. The recipe was lost very soon afterward and the Qianlong emperor himself will not get comparable porcelains despite his insistence with the same Superintendent.
The bright red dragon wraps its sinuous body in the blue clouds, in a contrast of superb brilliance. The blue is made in several shades, matching the quality of the Xuande porcelain of the Ming. The glaze becomes invisible over blue and white.
The wide open mouth and the bulging eyes of the dragon express a great fury. This mythical animal has only three claws per leg and cannot be confused with a Qing imperial dragon.
It is a copy of the dragons drawn under the Southern Song dynasty by Chen Rong, assessing Yongzheng's care to promote the best from Chinese graphic art of all times. Copies on silk in the same style were executed in the same period.
Let us remind that a drawing 35 x 440 cm scrolling six dragons executed by Chen Rong in 1244 CE was sold for $ 49M including premium by Christie's on March 15, 2017.
On June 5 in Beijing, Poly sells as lot 5552 a magnificent vase 51 cm high with a round body and a thick neck which is a technological feat without any relationship with the new enamel paintings brought by the foreigners.
This piece flawlessly combines an underglaze in cobalt blue and a red copper glaze which nevertheless required an extremely dissimilar firing profile. The recipe was lost very soon afterward and the Qianlong emperor himself will not get comparable porcelains despite his insistence with the same Superintendent.
The bright red dragon wraps its sinuous body in the blue clouds, in a contrast of superb brilliance. The blue is made in several shades, matching the quality of the Xuande porcelain of the Ming. The glaze becomes invisible over blue and white.
The wide open mouth and the bulging eyes of the dragon express a great fury. This mythical animal has only three claws per leg and cannot be confused with a Qing imperial dragon.
It is a copy of the dragons drawn under the Southern Song dynasty by Chen Rong, assessing Yongzheng's care to promote the best from Chinese graphic art of all times. Copies on silk in the same style were executed in the same period.
Let us remind that a drawing 35 x 440 cm scrolling six dragons executed by Chen Rong in 1244 CE was sold for $ 49M including premium by Christie's on March 15, 2017.
1743 Qianlong reticulated vase
2010 UNPAID at £ 43M plus a buyer's premium of £ 8.6M, at Bainbridges
In 1728 CE, Tang Ying is appointed by the Yongzheng emperor as the Superintendent of the Imperial porcelain produced at Jingdezhen. He spends several years observing the best practices of the potters. One of his first major successes is the development of the yangcai, offering a less expensive substitute to the Imperial City's falangcai that remains the high end.
These first years are experimental, with pieces of all shapes. Qianlong who succeeds Yongzheng in 1735 CE is just as demanding as his father. To please him, they must constantly bring novelties that match his ambitious role as Son of Heaven, accumulating the styles of all dynasties and integrating the new European trends.
In the early 1740s Tang Ying's expertise in Jingdezhen has no limits. The most complicated pieces are technological syntheses that require a long succession of firings at the risk of a low yield.
In a memorandum submitted to Qianlong in 1743 CE, Tang Ying apologizes for the small amount of units produced in the new style of double vase, only nine. The inner part is enclosed in the outer vase with a distance of about 3 to 4 cm between their walls. The outer vase is pierced by large holes of various elegant shapes that allow the peeping to the inner part. The exterior is decorated with the same profusion as more classical imperial pieces.
Qianlong does not request the impossible. He authorizes to complete in pairs those models that had been produced in single pieces before suspending this technique sine die.
A reticulated vase with pairs of fishes surfaced in Middlesex in 2010. 40 cm high, it mixes archaic, Song, Buddhist and rocaille inspirations, juxtaposing the classic celadon and the modern yangcai in a yellow ground with sgraffiato. The inner wall is a blue and white in Ming style. After 30 minutes of bidding, Bainbridges's hammer fell at £ 43M, £ 51.6M including the premium, but the payment failed and the sale was cancelled. Here is the link to the 2012 report by The Telegraph before the sale was cancelled.
In 2010 nobody had considered the catalog of the exhibition in New York in 1905 of a Japanese collection where its pairing piece had been photographed and described. This vase has resurfaced. It was sold for HK $ 150M from a lower estimate of HK $ 50M by Sotheby's on October 3, 2018, lot 3001. It differs from the Middlesex specimen by a rarer variant of the reign mark and so may be the master item produced for that pair.
These first years are experimental, with pieces of all shapes. Qianlong who succeeds Yongzheng in 1735 CE is just as demanding as his father. To please him, they must constantly bring novelties that match his ambitious role as Son of Heaven, accumulating the styles of all dynasties and integrating the new European trends.
In the early 1740s Tang Ying's expertise in Jingdezhen has no limits. The most complicated pieces are technological syntheses that require a long succession of firings at the risk of a low yield.
In a memorandum submitted to Qianlong in 1743 CE, Tang Ying apologizes for the small amount of units produced in the new style of double vase, only nine. The inner part is enclosed in the outer vase with a distance of about 3 to 4 cm between their walls. The outer vase is pierced by large holes of various elegant shapes that allow the peeping to the inner part. The exterior is decorated with the same profusion as more classical imperial pieces.
Qianlong does not request the impossible. He authorizes to complete in pairs those models that had been produced in single pieces before suspending this technique sine die.
A reticulated vase with pairs of fishes surfaced in Middlesex in 2010. 40 cm high, it mixes archaic, Song, Buddhist and rocaille inspirations, juxtaposing the classic celadon and the modern yangcai in a yellow ground with sgraffiato. The inner wall is a blue and white in Ming style. After 30 minutes of bidding, Bainbridges's hammer fell at £ 43M, £ 51.6M including the premium, but the payment failed and the sale was cancelled. Here is the link to the 2012 report by The Telegraph before the sale was cancelled.
In 2010 nobody had considered the catalog of the exhibition in New York in 1905 of a Japanese collection where its pairing piece had been photographed and described. This vase has resurfaced. It was sold for HK $ 150M from a lower estimate of HK $ 50M by Sotheby's on October 3, 2018, lot 3001. It differs from the Middlesex specimen by a rarer variant of the reign mark and so may be the master item produced for that pair.
1752 100 Birds
2021 SOLD for RMB 266M by Poly
The manufacturing process of the reticulated revolving vase was arguably the most difficult ever, with the elements being assembled after separate firing. The Qianlong emperor wisely stopped it after pairing the last additional pieces to the production from the first batches.
The technology of the double vase nevertheless remained appealing for offering the most favorable auspices. Such pieces may be identified as turning heart bottles.
One of them, 63 cm high, is among the most massive in that category. The outer belly features a flying phoenix in a scenery. The open work matches the details of the landscape in irregular shapes, which is an additional feat with a higher risk of deformation during the firing. The rotation of the inner cylinder reveals the flock of ten species of auspicious birds in their flight facing the phoenix as a symbol of the harmonious balance of yin and yang.
The Divine Mother Empress Dowager Chongqing was held in very high regard by her son the Qianlong emperor and her 60th birthday in 1752 CE was one of the most lavish events of his reign.
The Imperial archives record that, on the fifth month of Qianlong's 18th year, the emperor commissioned Jingdezhen to fire a turning heart bottle with fighting dragons which was delivered by Tang Ying in the 11th month of the next year after 18 months of labor.
The yangcai vase with the phoenix was not documented. It was certainly prepared in the same period for a filial presenting to the empress dowager who was known to enjoy the story of the '100 birds'. It was sold for £ 330K by Christie's on June 15, 1999, lot 99, and for RMB 266M by Poly on June 7, 2021, lot 5153.
The technology of the double vase nevertheless remained appealing for offering the most favorable auspices. Such pieces may be identified as turning heart bottles.
One of them, 63 cm high, is among the most massive in that category. The outer belly features a flying phoenix in a scenery. The open work matches the details of the landscape in irregular shapes, which is an additional feat with a higher risk of deformation during the firing. The rotation of the inner cylinder reveals the flock of ten species of auspicious birds in their flight facing the phoenix as a symbol of the harmonious balance of yin and yang.
The Divine Mother Empress Dowager Chongqing was held in very high regard by her son the Qianlong emperor and her 60th birthday in 1752 CE was one of the most lavish events of his reign.
The Imperial archives record that, on the fifth month of Qianlong's 18th year, the emperor commissioned Jingdezhen to fire a turning heart bottle with fighting dragons which was delivered by Tang Ying in the 11th month of the next year after 18 months of labor.
The yangcai vase with the phoenix was not documented. It was certainly prepared in the same period for a filial presenting to the empress dowager who was known to enjoy the story of the '100 birds'. It was sold for £ 330K by Christie's on June 15, 1999, lot 99, and for RMB 266M by Poly on June 7, 2021, lot 5153.
Qianlong - The Vase with Pheasants
2011 SOLD 200 MHK$
When the Chinese emperor was powerful, he allowed foreign influences to mingle with the Imperial tradition. In the case of Qianlong, watchmaking, for example, has been a real transfer of technology from England and Chinese imports greatly contributed to the success of Swiss production.
The vases, snuff bottles and brushpots made during his reign reach a high degree of perfection. Shapes are Eastern but the subjects and compositions, sometimes, are European.
The enamels with European themes are named Falangcai ("foreign color"). A beautiful porcelain vase of this type is estimated HK $ 180M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 15. On a white background, its exquisite painting shows a couple of pheasants on a nest. The balance ot the curves between the bottle and its neck is perfect.
It is 20 cm high, bears the Imperial mark and is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Too expensive. Unsold.
2
Yes it was expensive, but a buyer was tempted. The press release from Sotheby's told that this vase has been sold HK $ 200M privately after the sale.
Traditionally, such announcement includes fees.
The vases, snuff bottles and brushpots made during his reign reach a high degree of perfection. Shapes are Eastern but the subjects and compositions, sometimes, are European.
The enamels with European themes are named Falangcai ("foreign color"). A beautiful porcelain vase of this type is estimated HK $ 180M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 15. On a white background, its exquisite painting shows a couple of pheasants on a nest. The balance ot the curves between the bottle and its neck is perfect.
It is 20 cm high, bears the Imperial mark and is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Too expensive. Unsold.
2
Yes it was expensive, but a buyer was tempted. The press release from Sotheby's told that this vase has been sold HK $ 200M privately after the sale.
Traditionally, such announcement includes fees.
Qianlong - The Poem of the Poppies
2018 SOLD for HK$ 170M including premium
The falangcai porcelain from the Qianlong period is extremely rare and very difficult to date. This technique originally developed for the Kangxi emperor in the small Jesuit workshop had survived the Yongzheng reign thanks to Castiglione's perseverance and talent. The white porcelain prepared in Jingdezhen was decorated with the most exquisite colored enamels in that workshop of the imperial palace before the final firing.
Painter on silk, Castiglione had managed to please these three demanding emperors by adding to the traditional Chinese graphic style some elements of great naturalistic details. The Qianlong vase with pheasants in the nest from the Meiyintang collection is a very good example. It was sold for HK $ 200M in post sale by Sotheby's on April 7, 2011.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 1 a Qianlong falangcai bowl 11.8 cm in diameter decorated with poppies. The August 30 press release tells that it is expected above HK $ 200M. Please watch here below the video shared by the auction house.
Directly inspired by the art of Castiglione, this bowl shows on its outer wall poppy blossoms of various colors on long stems bent in all directions by the wind. Like the nest of pheasants, this scene is anchored on a rocky ground. The curved shape and the turned-over rim provide a three-dimensional effect to this drawing that rises to the top of the piece. The interior of the bowl is decorated with fruits of abondance and the imperial mark is in blue enamel.
Qianlong loved literary quotes. The high collar of the pheasant vase is decorated with a poem. Likewise a fourteen-character poem adorns the back side of the poppy bowl at the top of an otherwise blank area.
This poem from the Ming period is directly related to the theme of the bowl. One of the names of the poppy in Chinese is Yu meiren, the Beautiful Yu, in memory of the concubine of an emperor usurper against the Han. When defeat became inevitable, Lady Yu executed for her emperor a languid song while dancing around a sword on which she then pierced herself.
Painter on silk, Castiglione had managed to please these three demanding emperors by adding to the traditional Chinese graphic style some elements of great naturalistic details. The Qianlong vase with pheasants in the nest from the Meiyintang collection is a very good example. It was sold for HK $ 200M in post sale by Sotheby's on April 7, 2011.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 1 a Qianlong falangcai bowl 11.8 cm in diameter decorated with poppies. The August 30 press release tells that it is expected above HK $ 200M. Please watch here below the video shared by the auction house.
Directly inspired by the art of Castiglione, this bowl shows on its outer wall poppy blossoms of various colors on long stems bent in all directions by the wind. Like the nest of pheasants, this scene is anchored on a rocky ground. The curved shape and the turned-over rim provide a three-dimensional effect to this drawing that rises to the top of the piece. The interior of the bowl is decorated with fruits of abondance and the imperial mark is in blue enamel.
Qianlong loved literary quotes. The high collar of the pheasant vase is decorated with a poem. Likewise a fourteen-character poem adorns the back side of the poppy bowl at the top of an otherwise blank area.
This poem from the Ming period is directly related to the theme of the bowl. One of the names of the poppy in Chinese is Yu meiren, the Beautiful Yu, in memory of the concubine of an emperor usurper against the Han. When defeat became inevitable, Lady Yu executed for her emperor a languid song while dancing around a sword on which she then pierced herself.
