A COPPER-RED UNDERGLAZE-BLUE ‘BUDDHIST LION’ GARLIC-MOUTH VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the compressed globular body supported on a splayed foot, rising to a tall waisted neck with a garlic-form mouth and lipped rim, painted in underglaze-red and blue with three Buddhist lions, each detailed with large bulging eyes, flared nostrils, tightly coiled mane and a bushy tail, variously depicted playing a beribboned brocade ball amidst flame wisps, one crouching with its head turned backward eyeing the ball, the other with its paw resting on the ball, and one lying on its back batting the ball into the air, all below an underglaze-blue floral scroll reserved against a copper-red fish-roe ground between two raised filets, the neck variously encircled by bands of lotus sprigs, lingzhi scroll and pendent trefoil leaves divided by raised fillets, the garlic-head mouth moulded and painted with a band of broad upright lotus lappets, encircled at the foot with upright lappets, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark

A New York Estate, by repute.

There is a small 1.2 cm narrow polished frit on the rim and a few expected light scratches to the surface glaze. There is some light minor bubbling on the tail of one of the lion. Otherwise the vase is in very good condition.
"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."

A closely related vase of slightly larger size, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 181; another, from the Jingguantang collection, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2^nd November 1999, lot 601; and a smaller example, sold in these rooms, 27^th November 1977, lot 194, is published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 113. Compare also a vase with the same design of lions playing with balls, but of compressed pear shape and one ring on the differently decorated neck, sold in these rooms, 7^th May 2002, lot 581; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 8^th October 1990, lot 482.

All the vases belonging to this group, including the present piece, bear the rare Qianlong seal mark when the Qian character includes an element on the left resembling the character you rather than the character ri as is usual. Geng Baochang in Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 344, describes this as an early mark used at Jingdezhen during the time of Tang Ying, Superintendent of the Imperial kilns. Geng records the same mark on a box decorated in copper red and underglaze blue in the Palace Museum, Beijing, on a famille rose brushpot inscribed with a poem composed by Tang Ying, and on a blue and white brushpot inscribed with a poem in the Guandong.

The subject of Buddhist lions playing with beribboned balls dates back to blue and white porcelain of the early Ming dynasty, as portrayed on a jar attributed to the Yongle period (1403-24), illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, London, 2010, pl. 1643, and sold twice in these rooms, 1^st November 1999, lot 312, and again, 7^th April 2011, lot 51. The vibrant design presents many auspicious associations symbolising physical and spiritual power and conveys the wishes for high rank.