AN EXTREMELY RARE GILT-DECORATED TROMPE L'OEIL BRONZE-IMITATION ARCHAISTIC VASE AND LACQUER-IMITATION STAND, ZUN SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

of archaistic zun form, skilfully potted with a flattened pear-shaped body rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck and flared rim, the vessel flanked by three pairs of gold-enamelled openwork handles and decorated with bands of archaistic motifs, including friezes of kui dragons and taotie masks between two lappet borders, the design further adorned with raised bands and flanges with gilt highlights, all against a ground densely incised with leiwen motifs and interlocking ruyi, applied with a mottled robin's egg turquoise-blue glaze in simulation of an archaic bronze with malachite encrustation, the gold-enamelled base inscribed in gilt with a six-character seal mark, the well-fitted porcelain stand modelled with a bulging apron terminating in six lobed feet, modelled after Japanese maki-e lacquer of the period and decorated in gilt with floral and foliate motifs against a black ground

Collection of Edward James (1907-1984), West Dean Park, no. 140.

The front side of the foot has been broken and professionally restored with the original chips. The right elephant-head handle has been slightly retouched. The stand is in overall good condition. There are some typical wear to the gilding and enamels to both the vase and the stand.
"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."

The present vase is extremely rare with only one other example known and probably the companion to this piece, but lacking its original stand, from the collection of Ernest Grandidier and now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, inventory no. G3274. This pair is remarkable for the opulent gilt decoration and it is extremely rare to find a porcelain vessel simulating bronze together with a fitted stand simulating lacquer. Imitations of other materials were a challenge taken up by the Jingdezhen potters in the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735) to display the great potential of their craft and appear to have pleased the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) in particular. Among the many simulations created by the imperial workshops for the Qianlong Emperor, those imitating archaic bronzes appear to have been the most popular. Ritual bronze vessels particularly of the late Shang (c. 1600-c. 1050 BC) and Western Zhou (c. 1050-771 BC) periods, which the Emperor equally collected, inspired precise trompe-l'oeil copies as well as 'modern' interpretations, like the present vase. Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes, typically a brown of 'café-au-lait' or 'teadust' type heightened with gold, and this was often combined with a mottled turquoise or green glaze to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork. The lavish use of robin's-egg glaze seen on the present vase is, however, unusual.

Compare a vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, echoing an archaic bronze zun with only a narrow band of this robin's-egg glaze reserved on an overall teadust surface, illustrated in Qing Porcelain of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Periods from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 412, pl. 93, together with a gu and a bell simulating bronzes, pp. 414f., pls 95 and 96. For another porcelain gu see Zhou Lili, Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections: Qing Dynasty Imperial Porcelain from the Yongzheng to Xuantong Period, Shanghai, 2014, pl. 3-65.

For the prototype of the maki-e lacquerware that the porcelain stand here so skilfully simulates, see the framework and decoration on a tiered box from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005, cat. no. 176. 

An archaistic vase with identical leiwen patterns against a robin's-egg ground was exhibited in Emperor Ch'ien-lung's Grand Cultural Enterprise, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, cat. no. V-9, together with a robin's-egg-ground gilt-decorated incense burner simulating bronze, cat. no. V-7. For the stand of the present piece compare a black-glazed gilt-decorated double-gourd vase, ibid., cat. no. V-8. Compare similar kui dragons on a robin's egg-ground gilt-decorated archaistic vase, which was in the collections of Lord Loch of Drylaw (1827-1900) and Alfred Morrison (1821-1897) of the Fonthill House, sold at Christie's London, 18th October 1971, lot 52, and again in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2128, from the collection of J.T. Tai. An archaistic simulated bronze vase with comparable kui dragons and plantain leaves, sold at Christie's London, 1st October 1991, lot 809, was exhibited in Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 201, and illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 953, and was sold again in these rooms 5th October 2011, lot 19.