A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE 'FAMILLE-ROSE' SGRAFFIATO-GROUND BALUSTER VASE QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD

the elegant slightly tapering body rising from a short straight foot to a tall waisted neck with everted rim, finely and brightly enamelled around the exterior with a leafy undulating floral scroll of full-blown lotus, clematis and hibiscus flowers, all reserved on a turquoise sgraffiato ground, the shoulder moulded in high relief with brightly enamelled and gilt sinuous chilong clambering up and around the neck, the interior and base glazed white

A Private English Collection.

This large and impressive vase is in good overall condition with the exception of restoration to the neck and the tail of the yellow chilong, light rubbing to the gilding at the rim, a 5 x 2mm green enamel flake to one of the flowers at the shoulder, a 3 x 2mm enamel flake to the green ground at the foot and very light glaze scratches.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Large vases painted in this exceptional manner that incorporates Western techniques and traditional Chinese decorative patterns are rare, and no other example with a Qianlong reign mark appears to have been published. The vessel is painted in the yangcai (Western colours) enamels which is a product of the aesthetic taste of the Qianlong emperor and the achievements of Tang Ying, Superintendent at the Imperial Kilns at Jingdezhen. Closely related examples, but lacking a reign mark, have been sold at auction; see a pair of vases from the collection of W.W. Winkworth sold in these rooms, 12^th December 1972, lot 177; and another pair sold in these rooms, 12^th November 2003, lot 258, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 2^nd May 2005, lot 726.

The decorative technique employed on this vase is first explained by Tang Ying in his work A Brief Account of Ceramics, where he notes that yangcai wares should be classified as wares using falang glazes with Western painting styles (see the National Palace Museum exhibition catalogue Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch'ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008, p. 33). The flowers on this piece are painted with Western shading techniques that give the composition a sense of three-dimensionality. White pigment is used on the leaves and flower petals to emphasise light and shade and the overall pattern is influenced by Western-style floral compositions often seen on 17^th century Limoges wares. See a pair of similarly decorated large vases in the National Palace Museum, included in the exhibition ibid., cat. no. 33, together with a square-form vase decorated with a flower scroll motif on a yellow ground, cat. no. 34; and a large famille-rose fishbowl painted with leafy lotus scrolls in a similar Western style, sold in these rooms, 13^th May 2009, lot 205. 

The sumptuousness of this vase is heightened by the sgraffiato ground and sinous bodies of the applied chilong dragons. Sgraffiato work involved carving a formal design into a solid background colour and usually consisted of formal diaper patterns. Although this technique was developed in Beijing, in Jingdezhen this style was elevated to primary decoration and was perfected through the delicate needlepoint engraving of scrollwork, which conveys an impression of rich brocade. For a celadon-ground vase painted with gilt scrolling fronds and four similarly formed and coloured chilong dragons crawling over the body, see one illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 15, pt. II, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 26.