Early Qing
See also : Chinese porcelain Qing porcelain Jade Dragon Bird Travel
Chronology : 1680-1699 18th century 1700-1719 1720-1729 1730-1739
Chronology : 1680-1699 18th century 1700-1719 1720-1729 1730-1739
1691-1697 The Assimilation of the Southern Provinces
2016 SOLD for $ 9.5M including premium
The Kangxi Emperor had a high opinion of his duties and responsibilities and his personal commitment was intense. The Qing Dynasty was still recent and it was challenged in the border provinces. The six inspection tours conducted by the emperor in the south between the 24th and the 47th year of his reign are intended for the assimilation of these reluctant regions.
Kangxi is not afraid to go to war but prefers peace. His tours are opportunities to link with the Four Occupations in their local particularities : gentry, peasants, craftsmen and merchants. The loyalty to the Emperor requires to understand and to be understood. Kangxi is a great statesman, lucid, responsible and effective.
The second trip took place during the 29th year of the reign, 1689 in our calendar. It was fruitful and promising and they must preserve its memory. An imperial decree orders the execution of a scroll divided into twelve parts showing in a continuity the steps of the long journey.
The project is politically important and an administrator is appointed. The artistic supervision is entrusted to Wang Hui, a renowned artist familiar with the southern landscapes.
For six years, the team of artists applies strictly on a silk strip 68 cm high the detailed instructions of Master Wang concerning the topographic features, the more or less close distance to villages and mountains, the actions of the emperor and the daily life of the people.
The overall length of the twelve scrolls, completed around the 37th year of the reign, is 200 meters. Two of the twelve scrolls are not located. The sixth scroll was divided in France circa the 1930s. Its fragments are the only elements of the set in private hands. At least two fragments of the sixth scroll are still missing.
Three fragments were auctioned by Briscadieu-Bordeaux in 2013 and 2014. One of them including dock scenes was sold for € 3,36M including premium on 27 April 2013.
The longest fragment of the sixth scroll, measuring 4.75 m, is estimated $ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on September 14, lot 576. In a bird's-eye view demonstrating a remarkable control of the topographic representation, boats travel around the many islands of a river.
The tweet pasted below shows a detail. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
Kangxi is not afraid to go to war but prefers peace. His tours are opportunities to link with the Four Occupations in their local particularities : gentry, peasants, craftsmen and merchants. The loyalty to the Emperor requires to understand and to be understood. Kangxi is a great statesman, lucid, responsible and effective.
The second trip took place during the 29th year of the reign, 1689 in our calendar. It was fruitful and promising and they must preserve its memory. An imperial decree orders the execution of a scroll divided into twelve parts showing in a continuity the steps of the long journey.
The project is politically important and an administrator is appointed. The artistic supervision is entrusted to Wang Hui, a renowned artist familiar with the southern landscapes.
For six years, the team of artists applies strictly on a silk strip 68 cm high the detailed instructions of Master Wang concerning the topographic features, the more or less close distance to villages and mountains, the actions of the emperor and the daily life of the people.
The overall length of the twelve scrolls, completed around the 37th year of the reign, is 200 meters. Two of the twelve scrolls are not located. The sixth scroll was divided in France circa the 1930s. Its fragments are the only elements of the set in private hands. At least two fragments of the sixth scroll are still missing.
Three fragments were auctioned by Briscadieu-Bordeaux in 2013 and 2014. One of them including dock scenes was sold for € 3,36M including premium on 27 April 2013.
The longest fragment of the sixth scroll, measuring 4.75 m, is estimated $ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on September 14, lot 576. In a bird's-eye view demonstrating a remarkable control of the topographic representation, boats travel around the many islands of a river.
The tweet pasted below shows a detail. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
Single-owner collection of Chinese paintings @Sothebys after 25 years off the market. https://t.co/eMYfycoQK2 pic.twitter.com/aWOpS6WtaM
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) August 5, 2016
Kangxi - Blessing by the Son of Heaven
2016 SOLD for HK$ 93M including premium
The Kangxi emperor had a very high opinion of his political responsibilities. He was the only intercessor between the heaven and the people. His Qing dynasty was of Manchu origin and he had to maintain his authority against the ethnic Chinese. He succeeded marvelously since his reign combined with those of his son and his grandson assured peace and prosperity in an unprecedented effectiveness during more than hundred years.
Seals were used to improve the documents with the deep thinking of the emperor himself, so constituting a method to express and spread the imperial mottos. The most important of their marks was the blessing thought Jingtian Qinmin : revere heaven and serve thy people. The emperor is not a despot. If he forgets his duty, he must be overthrown. Kangxi reigned during 61 years, from 1661 to 1722 of our calendar.
Kangxi used a single Jingtian Qinmin seal, maybe late in his life since no document from his reign has been identified with this mark. This is a large piece of sandalwood (tanxiangmu), 10 cm square surmounted by the sculpture of a mythical beast to a total height of 11 cm. This unique piece is for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6, lot 3101.
The extreme importance of Kangxi's Jingtian Qinmin was demonstrated posthumously. A replica with the same inscription is made in jade in the very first year of the reign of Yongzheng with an entirely different finial. When many years later Qianlong established the Kangxi Baosou displaying all the marks used by his grandfather, it appeared in the first position.
Seals were used to improve the documents with the deep thinking of the emperor himself, so constituting a method to express and spread the imperial mottos. The most important of their marks was the blessing thought Jingtian Qinmin : revere heaven and serve thy people. The emperor is not a despot. If he forgets his duty, he must be overthrown. Kangxi reigned during 61 years, from 1661 to 1722 of our calendar.
Kangxi used a single Jingtian Qinmin seal, maybe late in his life since no document from his reign has been identified with this mark. This is a large piece of sandalwood (tanxiangmu), 10 cm square surmounted by the sculpture of a mythical beast to a total height of 11 cm. This unique piece is for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6, lot 3101.
The extreme importance of Kangxi's Jingtian Qinmin was demonstrated posthumously. A replica with the same inscription is made in jade in the very first year of the reign of Yongzheng with an entirely different finial. When many years later Qianlong established the Kangxi Baosou displaying all the marks used by his grandfather, it appeared in the first position.
> 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.
1711-1722 An Early Falangcai Bowl
2013 SOLD 74 MHK$ including premium
Prosperous in the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen kilns were threatened with decline under the early Qing. During the fifteenth year of the reign of Kangxi (1675 in our calendar), a rebellion destroyed much of the facility.
Fortunately, Kangxi responded.
His social contribution is extraordinary. He replaced at Jingdezhen the forced labor by a network of independent craftsmen controlled by a superintendent. The competition between the artists will be the true reason for the incredible diversity of porcelain under his reign and those of his successors Yongzheng and Qianlong.
Western influences, including Islamic, were already recurrent in Chinese art. To strengthen his authority, Kangxi sought new alliances, including in terms of technology, up to Europe. The falangcai, meaning "foreign colors", is one of the innovations of his reign.
Based on the wucai well known during the Ming Dynasty, falangcai is a technique of double firing. The cloisonné enamel of various colors is painted over the first glaze in the imperial workshops in Beijing before the piece is fired a second time. Under Kangxi, the brilliant colors of enamels reached a previously unknown quality.
On April 8 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a very early falangcai bowl 11 cm in diameter bearing the Kangxi imperial mark. A suite of brightly colored lotus runs over a ruby background. No other piece is known with this particular decoration.
This bowl is the subject of a separate catalog, and is expected beyond HK $ 70M. Here is the link to the page overviewing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This rare bowl had been announced as an exceptional piece. This is confirmed by the result: HK $ 74M including premium.
The catalog indicates that this technique that combines the talents of Jingdezhen potters and Beijing painters has not been established before 1711 in our calendar. This porcelain piece has been made between that date and 1722, the year of the death of the Kangxi emperor.
Fortunately, Kangxi responded.
His social contribution is extraordinary. He replaced at Jingdezhen the forced labor by a network of independent craftsmen controlled by a superintendent. The competition between the artists will be the true reason for the incredible diversity of porcelain under his reign and those of his successors Yongzheng and Qianlong.
Western influences, including Islamic, were already recurrent in Chinese art. To strengthen his authority, Kangxi sought new alliances, including in terms of technology, up to Europe. The falangcai, meaning "foreign colors", is one of the innovations of his reign.
Based on the wucai well known during the Ming Dynasty, falangcai is a technique of double firing. The cloisonné enamel of various colors is painted over the first glaze in the imperial workshops in Beijing before the piece is fired a second time. Under Kangxi, the brilliant colors of enamels reached a previously unknown quality.
On April 8 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a very early falangcai bowl 11 cm in diameter bearing the Kangxi imperial mark. A suite of brightly colored lotus runs over a ruby background. No other piece is known with this particular decoration.
This bowl is the subject of a separate catalog, and is expected beyond HK $ 70M. Here is the link to the page overviewing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This rare bowl had been announced as an exceptional piece. This is confirmed by the result: HK $ 74M including premium.
The catalog indicates that this technique that combines the talents of Jingdezhen potters and Beijing painters has not been established before 1711 in our calendar. This porcelain piece has been made between that date and 1722, the year of the death of the Kangxi emperor.
1725 The Jade Seals of the Yongzheng Emperor
2015 SOLD for HK$ 105M including premium
The Yongzheng Emperor had an original and exquisite artistic taste. A eunuch serving as a majordomo transferred to the workshops the edicts by which the emperor expressed his desires. The records have been kept. Regarding the seals, an extreme accuracy in descriptions and sizes allows to attribute the pieces.
The 15th day of the 7th month of the third year of the reign, August 22, 1725 in our calendar, the eunuch commissions two white jade seals for the same inscription along with their boxes. Five days later a bronze prototype of the inscription is submitted to an inspection.
Both jade seals are completed in the next month, nine days apart one another. This great speed of execution is explained by the fact that the workshops had re-carved two ancient seals that the emperor himself had probably chosen in the imperial collection before issuing his order.
The smaller of the two seals, 5.5 x 5.6 cm, carved with a dragon in Yuan style, was sold for HK $ 35,4M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2011.
The other seal, reworked from a Kangxi figure, is larger and more ambitious. 7.4 cm high on a square base 6.1 x 6.1 cm, it has the form of a rock on which a hornless dragon or chilong is reclining with a wide open mouth in a threatening attitude. The rock is flanked by eight other chi moving amidst clouds.
This seal is offered with its luxurious original box inlaid in ivory. It is estimated HK $ 30M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 102.
Both seals discussed above are exceptional. Although Yongzheng has ordered more than two hundred seals during his short reign, only five have been made in jade.
The 15th day of the 7th month of the third year of the reign, August 22, 1725 in our calendar, the eunuch commissions two white jade seals for the same inscription along with their boxes. Five days later a bronze prototype of the inscription is submitted to an inspection.
Both jade seals are completed in the next month, nine days apart one another. This great speed of execution is explained by the fact that the workshops had re-carved two ancient seals that the emperor himself had probably chosen in the imperial collection before issuing his order.
The smaller of the two seals, 5.5 x 5.6 cm, carved with a dragon in Yuan style, was sold for HK $ 35,4M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2011.
The other seal, reworked from a Kangxi figure, is larger and more ambitious. 7.4 cm high on a square base 6.1 x 6.1 cm, it has the form of a rock on which a hornless dragon or chilong is reclining with a wide open mouth in a threatening attitude. The rock is flanked by eight other chi moving amidst clouds.
This seal is offered with its luxurious original box inlaid in ivory. It is estimated HK $ 30M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 102.
Both seals discussed above are exceptional. Although Yongzheng has ordered more than two hundred seals during his short reign, only five have been made in jade.
#HK #AuctionUpdate: 9 bidders, 14 mins: Imperial White Jade Yongzheng Yubi Zhi Bao Seal sells for HK$104.9m/US$13.5m pic.twitter.com/5p8ODk7WrO
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) April 7, 2015Yongzheng - An Amphora for the Qing
2017 SOLD for HK$ 140M including premium
The Manchus who overthrew the Ming dynasty are foreigners. When their Qing dynasty is politically stabilized, they are paying an intense attention to relying on the whole of the more than four-thousand-year-old tradition of the Chinese empire. From the reign of Kangxi some workshops in Jingdezhen realize porcelain pieces imitating the antique.
Jingdezhen's chemists and thermal engineers are highly skilled and there is no question of going back to the ancient manufacturing processes. A special effort is made to improve the green glaze imitating the color and transparency of jade, which is named qingci in Chinese and celadon in Europe. During the reign of Yongzheng several hues of celadon glaze are listed.
An amphora vase bearing the imperial mark of Yongzheng appears as a culmination of that development. It was sold for HK $ 17.4M including premium by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 1, 2004, a very high price at that time for a monochrome porcelain, and returns in the same venue on May 31, lot 2888.
The shape of this vase 52 cm high imitates vessels made of metal or porcelain in the Tang period, which are no longer amphorae of the antique type since the pointed lower end used to catch the vessel in its lower part for pouring the liquid has been replaced by a usual flat base for installation. He retains from these Tang models the two lateral handles in the shape of dragons biting the rim. The ornament of the neck simulating bamboo rings is a reference to the Northern Song.
Celadon is also an ancient symbol reminding the development of that glaze in the Longquan kilns under the Southern Song dynasty. The bluish-green glaze of this amphora, thick and translucent and leveled in the recesses, is indeed an achievement directly attributable to the engineering of the Qing.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Jingdezhen's chemists and thermal engineers are highly skilled and there is no question of going back to the ancient manufacturing processes. A special effort is made to improve the green glaze imitating the color and transparency of jade, which is named qingci in Chinese and celadon in Europe. During the reign of Yongzheng several hues of celadon glaze are listed.
An amphora vase bearing the imperial mark of Yongzheng appears as a culmination of that development. It was sold for HK $ 17.4M including premium by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 1, 2004, a very high price at that time for a monochrome porcelain, and returns in the same venue on May 31, lot 2888.
The shape of this vase 52 cm high imitates vessels made of metal or porcelain in the Tang period, which are no longer amphorae of the antique type since the pointed lower end used to catch the vessel in its lower part for pouring the liquid has been replaced by a usual flat base for installation. He retains from these Tang models the two lateral handles in the shape of dragons biting the rim. The ornament of the neck simulating bamboo rings is a reference to the Northern Song.
Celadon is also an ancient symbol reminding the development of that glaze in the Longquan kilns under the Southern Song dynasty. The bluish-green glaze of this amphora, thick and translucent and leveled in the recesses, is indeed an achievement directly attributable to the engineering of the Qing.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
#AuctionUpdate This incredibly rare Yongzheng-period celadon-glazed amphora just sold for US$18,129,688 in HK https://t.co/7B1k4RqKrU pic.twitter.com/5GkAzM45fT
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 31, 2017
1731 The Eternal Governance of the Yongzheng Emperor
2015 SOLD for HK$ 90M including premium
Chinese porcelain is experiencing a restart of its development during the Kangxi period with the use of enamel painting. Multicolored pieces were already spectacular under the Ming but the new technique named falangcai enables to replace pure colors by exquisite shades highly appealing to Chinese taste.
The appointment by the Yongzheng emperor in the sixth year of his reign of Tang Ying as superintendent of the workshops of Jingdezhen is one of the most outstanding events in art history, paving the way for a total diversification of Chinese porcelain in terms of shapes, themes, colors, sizes, either imitating the antique or bringing some wonderful innovation.
The palette of colors becomes complete with the control of pink, happening around that time. This culmination of falangcai is the yangcai, often referred as famille rose. The yangcai invites the artists to express all the delicate shades of peach blossoms, a symbol of happy longevity, and to improve the velvety look of the ripe fruit.
On April 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a pair of peach bowls,lot 112 estimated HK $ 40M. Each piece 13 cm in diameter is decorated with auspicious symbols. This pair with the mark of Yongzheng was probably made for the celebration of a birthday of the emperor himself. The six peaches and five bats on each bowl bring the most pleasant greetings to the emperor.
The branch with fruit, leaves and two shades of flowers begins at the base and extends over the entire inner surface without being interrupted through the rim of the bowl, offering a full size picture whatever the angle at which the piece is held.
This sensational feature meets a specific theme request by the emperor, recorded on the registers of the imperial workshops on the 19th day of the 4th month of the ninth year of Yongzheng, 1731 in our calendar. The long branch is named changzhi which is homophonic to the other meaning of Eternal Governance.
Yongzheng died four years later. The pair of Yongzheng yangcai changzhi bowls for sale by Sotheby's is extremely rare, as only five other pairs and a single bowl are recorded. Two of the five pairs are separated.
The appointment by the Yongzheng emperor in the sixth year of his reign of Tang Ying as superintendent of the workshops of Jingdezhen is one of the most outstanding events in art history, paving the way for a total diversification of Chinese porcelain in terms of shapes, themes, colors, sizes, either imitating the antique or bringing some wonderful innovation.
The palette of colors becomes complete with the control of pink, happening around that time. This culmination of falangcai is the yangcai, often referred as famille rose. The yangcai invites the artists to express all the delicate shades of peach blossoms, a symbol of happy longevity, and to improve the velvety look of the ripe fruit.
On April 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a pair of peach bowls,lot 112 estimated HK $ 40M. Each piece 13 cm in diameter is decorated with auspicious symbols. This pair with the mark of Yongzheng was probably made for the celebration of a birthday of the emperor himself. The six peaches and five bats on each bowl bring the most pleasant greetings to the emperor.
The branch with fruit, leaves and two shades of flowers begins at the base and extends over the entire inner surface without being interrupted through the rim of the bowl, offering a full size picture whatever the angle at which the piece is held.
This sensational feature meets a specific theme request by the emperor, recorded on the registers of the imperial workshops on the 19th day of the 4th month of the ninth year of Yongzheng, 1731 in our calendar. The long branch is named changzhi which is homophonic to the other meaning of Eternal Governance.
Yongzheng died four years later. The pair of Yongzheng yangcai changzhi bowls for sale by Sotheby's is extremely rare, as only five other pairs and a single bowl are recorded. Two of the five pairs are separated.
#AuctionUpdate: Top prices for Chinese Works Of Art continue with two HK$89.8m/US$11.6m Famille-Rose 'Peach' Bowls pic.twitter.com/dKTQyI6v78
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) April 7, 20151732 The Exquisite Pale on White
2015 SOLD for HK$ 85M including premium
At the end of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the introduction of enamel in the techniques of Chinese porcelain pleasantly increases the color palette. The imperial chemists continue developing this falangcai during the reign of his successor the Yongzheng Emperor.
The new emperor is highly demanding in terms of refinement. The best pieces are exclusively executed for his personal use after a severe selection.
The greatest achievement of the porcelain according to the taste of the Yongzheng Emperor is the shuimo falangcai. The enamel is deposited like an ink wash. This new technique provides the same quality of drawing than on paper, plus the brightness of the porcelain.
The shuimo enables to copy the traditional themes of the Song period. When in addition a calligraphed poem is evoking the pleasure of fragrance, art becomes so perfect that only the emperor himself is worthy to deserve it.
The shuimo can offer a very small contrast between the pure pale color of the prunus blossom and the perfect white of the porcelain. This ultimate achievement of the falangcai is developed during the ninth year of Yongzheng and is also identified as sepia enamels. On the fourth month of the tenth year, 1732 in our calendar, the excellence of the shuimo falangcai is recognized by an imperial decree.
Pieces in shuimo falangcai are extremely rare. On December 2 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells a bowl 10 cm in diameter, lot 2888. It is decorated with branches and blossoms of prunus along with bamboos. Both symbolize winter that anticipates the expectations of spring : the blossom of the prunus hatches before the arrival of the leaf and bamboo is unchanged throughout the seasons.
The decoration is complemented by a poem in an antique style of calligraphy that appealed to the emperor and by three enameled seal marks. The bowl carries on its base the imperial four-character mark of the Yongzheng Emperor.
The new emperor is highly demanding in terms of refinement. The best pieces are exclusively executed for his personal use after a severe selection.
The greatest achievement of the porcelain according to the taste of the Yongzheng Emperor is the shuimo falangcai. The enamel is deposited like an ink wash. This new technique provides the same quality of drawing than on paper, plus the brightness of the porcelain.
The shuimo enables to copy the traditional themes of the Song period. When in addition a calligraphed poem is evoking the pleasure of fragrance, art becomes so perfect that only the emperor himself is worthy to deserve it.
The shuimo can offer a very small contrast between the pure pale color of the prunus blossom and the perfect white of the porcelain. This ultimate achievement of the falangcai is developed during the ninth year of Yongzheng and is also identified as sepia enamels. On the fourth month of the tenth year, 1732 in our calendar, the excellence of the shuimo falangcai is recognized by an imperial decree.
Pieces in shuimo falangcai are extremely rare. On December 2 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells a bowl 10 cm in diameter, lot 2888. It is decorated with branches and blossoms of prunus along with bamboos. Both symbolize winter that anticipates the expectations of spring : the blossom of the prunus hatches before the arrival of the leaf and bamboo is unchanged throughout the seasons.
The decoration is complemented by a poem in an antique style of calligraphy that appealed to the emperor and by three enameled seal marks. The bowl carries on its base the imperial four-character mark of the Yongzheng Emperor.
Christie’s Hong Kong Sales Cycle = HK$ 2.6bn (US$ 340.6m) https://t.co/SaVEjVV1c4 pic.twitter.com/TLj4atsOVa
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) December 2, 2015Yongzheng - Perfection of a Cloisonné
2010 SOLD 130 MHK$ including premium
A masterpiece is for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on December 1.
The technique of cloisonné enamel was used to create realistic figures often intended as candle holder or as censer. Our exceptional pair of double imperial Chinese cranes belongs to the latter category.
Both elements show the same scene. As it is often the case, they are inverted with respect to each other. On each one, the larger bird, straight legs, sinuous neck, holds in its raised beak a twig of peach with two fruits. More flexible, the smaller bird has slightly bent legs.
The elegance of the cranes, the fineness of the cloisonné and the large size, 1.45 m, are making this pair to be considered as highly exceptional. The estimate is not published in the catalog, but the press release told that the auction house expects in excess of HK $ 120M.
Of course, this representation is full of symbols. The red-capped crane, valued for its longevity, means harmony and peace. The exceptional presence of a smaller bird beside the main figure shows a filial piety. We would like to see it as a tribute by Prince Hongli, the future Emperor Qianlong, to his father Yongzheng in whose reign this perfect artwork was made.
POST SALE COMMENT
HK $ 130M including premium: the high price, which was expected, rewards a lot which is exceptional in its class.
The image of this lot is shared post sale by The Wall Street Journal.
The technique of cloisonné enamel was used to create realistic figures often intended as candle holder or as censer. Our exceptional pair of double imperial Chinese cranes belongs to the latter category.
Both elements show the same scene. As it is often the case, they are inverted with respect to each other. On each one, the larger bird, straight legs, sinuous neck, holds in its raised beak a twig of peach with two fruits. More flexible, the smaller bird has slightly bent legs.
The elegance of the cranes, the fineness of the cloisonné and the large size, 1.45 m, are making this pair to be considered as highly exceptional. The estimate is not published in the catalog, but the press release told that the auction house expects in excess of HK $ 120M.
Of course, this representation is full of symbols. The red-capped crane, valued for its longevity, means harmony and peace. The exceptional presence of a smaller bird beside the main figure shows a filial piety. We would like to see it as a tribute by Prince Hongli, the future Emperor Qianlong, to his father Yongzheng in whose reign this perfect artwork was made.
POST SALE COMMENT
HK $ 130M including premium: the high price, which was expected, rewards a lot which is exceptional in its class.
The image of this lot is shared post sale by The Wall Street Journal.
1736 The Celadon Dragons
2014 SOLD for HK$ 94M including premium
When the Song authorized the porcelain as an imperial ware, a special effort was made to develop a glaze whose beauty can be compared to jade. By reducing the flow of air while cooking, Song potters pushed celadon to perfection.
Several centuries pass. The many workshops in Jingdezhen offer the best of Chinese porcelain, with the protection and soon the enthusiasm of the Qing emperors.
In the sixth year of his reign, Yongzheng appointed Tang Ying as Superintendent of Jingdezhen imperial works. Encouraged cleverly during the two decades of the ministry of Tang Ying, the Chinese porcelain reached its peak, combining the rediscovery of ancient techniques, the experimenting with new cookings, as well as the full range of traditional and new shapes and themes.
A large monochrome celadon jar of 34 cm for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 8, lot 3901, meets all these characteristics. This exceptional porcelain is expected beyond HK $ 80 million according to the press release.
The technique optimizing celadon was rediscovered after being lost since the Song. The theme with two dragons flying in a tight pattern of flames and clouds was not so lively before the Qing. Its high relief carving including the emergence of the muzzles is stunning, creating in the round a real three-dimensional scene.
A dragon is in a slightly dominant attitude relative to the other one. Both are imperial in the five fingered variant. They probably represent the emperor and his heir, same as the pairs of cranes in cloisonne from the same time that symbolized Yongzheng and his son Honli, the future Qianlong.
The jar does not bear the imperial mark of Yongzheng but of Qianlong. It was probably made in the period of transition between the two reigns, around 1736 of our calendar, the 14th and final year of Yongzheng.
Several centuries pass. The many workshops in Jingdezhen offer the best of Chinese porcelain, with the protection and soon the enthusiasm of the Qing emperors.
In the sixth year of his reign, Yongzheng appointed Tang Ying as Superintendent of Jingdezhen imperial works. Encouraged cleverly during the two decades of the ministry of Tang Ying, the Chinese porcelain reached its peak, combining the rediscovery of ancient techniques, the experimenting with new cookings, as well as the full range of traditional and new shapes and themes.
A large monochrome celadon jar of 34 cm for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 8, lot 3901, meets all these characteristics. This exceptional porcelain is expected beyond HK $ 80 million according to the press release.
The technique optimizing celadon was rediscovered after being lost since the Song. The theme with two dragons flying in a tight pattern of flames and clouds was not so lively before the Qing. Its high relief carving including the emergence of the muzzles is stunning, creating in the round a real three-dimensional scene.
A dragon is in a slightly dominant attitude relative to the other one. Both are imperial in the five fingered variant. They probably represent the emperor and his heir, same as the pairs of cranes in cloisonne from the same time that symbolized Yongzheng and his son Honli, the future Qianlong.
The jar does not bear the imperial mark of Yongzheng but of Qianlong. It was probably made in the period of transition between the two reigns, around 1736 of our calendar, the 14th and final year of Yongzheng.