- 417
AN IMPRESSIVE AND LARGE PAIR OF FAMILLE-ROSE 'SOLDIER' VASES AND COVERS QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, C. 1740 |
Estimate
250,000 - 400,000 USD
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Description
- Porcelain
- Height 52 1/2 in., 133.4 cm
each of baluster form, the rounded shoulders sweeping to a waisted neck and galleried rim, gently tapering to a flared base, the domed covers surmounted with lotus bud-form finials, superbly enameled in bright colors with a cock-pheasant proudly perched on rockwork gazing at its mate beyond the balustrade in a fenced garden of blossoming peony, magnolia, prunus with smaller birds and butterflies, the continuous scene below four shaped floral reserves against a sgraffiato ground of ruby-red scrollwork alternating with iron-red and gilt blossoms on blue ground, the necks painted with lobed reserves enclosing the 'Three Abundances' against a ground of iron-red and spaced with gilt lotus and white foliage, the covers repeating the sgraffiato pattern below the iron-red and gilt bud enclosing a lotus root, wood stands (6)
Provenance
Collection of Alfred Morrison (1821-1897), Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wiltshire.
Collection of the Rt. Hon. The Lord Margadale of Islay, T.D., J.P., D.L. (1906-1996).
Christie’s London, 31st May 1965, lot 72.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.
Collection of the Rt. Hon. The Lord Margadale of Islay, T.D., J.P., D.L. (1906-1996).
Christie’s London, 31st May 1965, lot 72.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.
Condition
One vase in overall good condition, and both vases with expected wear, including scattered small flakes to the enamels, acretions, remnants of old labels, and firing imperfections including burst glaze bubbles, kiln flakes, and iron spots. One vase with a restored half-moon form break in the mouth measuring approx. 11.5 cm wide and with an associated crack running vertically down the body approx 66 cm from the break, the area with spray consolidation and retouching. Both vases with a stamp on the base reading '1967,' likely a customs/export stamp. One cover with the finial reattached, with consolidation surrounding the join and to the interior center of the cover. Enamels bright.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
The Fonthill Soldier Vases This outstanding pair of vases, formerly in the collection of Alfred Morrison at Fonthill House, is an exquisite example of 'soldier' vases produced during the early Qianlong period (r. 1736-95). The monumental size of 'soldier' vases required great technical skill during the potting, firing, and enameling. Consequently, vases of this type, which were normally made in pairs or in quadruples, were very difficult and costly to produce. The present vases represent the highest quality of the type. Decorated in the highly developed famille-rose palette with a rare design of pheasants among branches of auspicious flowers between equally extravagant bands, their superiority is evidenced in the masterful enameling that is embellished with generous use of gilding on the peony blooms, and in their perfectly proportioned form and design.
The luxurious and exotic style of these vases captures the height of the popularity of chinoiserie that was sweeping through Europe in the 18th century. In response to the current European taste, elements of the Baroque and Rococo aesthetic infiltrated the Chinese craftsman’s repertoire. Traditional Chinese motifs were synthesized with Western styles, as indicated by the elaborate lambrequin borders on the neck and shoulder, which combine richly-patterned grounds, leafy tendrils, and C-scrolls with shaped panels containing various auspicious Chinese motifs. This fanciful Europeanized Chinese design is also seen in the extensive gilding and asymmetrical composition.
While 'soldier' vases were frequently enameled with phoenixes and flowers, it is particularly unusual to find examples depicting pheasants. The craftsman has cleverly captured the exoticism of phoenixes by rendering the pheasants with vibrant, long-flowing feathers.
'Soldier' vase examples exist in blue and white, iron-red and gilt, Imari, and famille-rose palettes. Most of these are now found in the West and it is generally assumed that they were made for the export market, however a rare subset of 'soldier' vases bearing figural motifs might suggest the presence of a concurrent domestic market for these vessels. Among this group are a pair of vases illustrating Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West) riding on a phoenix and greeted by elegant ladies and auspicious animals, sold in our London rooms, 4th November 1969, lot 182, and again in these rooms, 29th March 2011, lot 2; and a pair depicting ladies on a terrace playing a game of go, that pair was also formerly in the collection of Alfred Morrison at Fonthill House, and was sold at Christie's, London, 18th October, 1971, lot 30, and then in our Paris rooms, 27th June, 2001, lot 316.
Comparable vases of this size with elaborately decorated borders, but painted with phoenixes amongst flowers, include a pair in the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, illustrated in Maria Antonia Pinto de Matos, Porcelana Chinesa/Chinese Porcelain, Lisbon, 2003, pl. 58; a pair, from the collection of Edmund de Rothschild, Esq. T.D., sold twice at Christie’s London, 28th July 1975, lot 181, and again, 10th June 1996, lot 135; and a single vase, from the collection of the Hon. Mrs. Ronal Greville, published in G.C. Williamson, The Book of Famille Rose, London, 1927, pl. LVII (left).
The terms ‘soldier’ or ‘dragoon’ are frequently applied to vases of this massive size after an event in 1717, when Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and inveterate porcelain collector, traded a regiment of 600 soldiers for a group of porcelain including several blue and white Kangxi period vases of this monumental size. Those vases came from the collection of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and had been housed within his own porcelain collection at Schloss Oranienburg.
This pair of 'soldier' vases was formerly in the collection of Alfred Morrison (1821-1897) and was displayed at Fonthill House in Wiltshire, England. After inheriting Fonthill House in 1857, Morrison commissioned the internationally renowned architect, Owen Jones (1809-1874), to design a room in an opulent cinquecento (16th century) style to house his collection of Chinese ceramics, one of the most significant western collections of Chinese ceramics in modern history. Photographs of the interior of Fonthill, taken in June 1988, show a number of large 'soldier' vases, including one of the present pair, along with other Chinese ceramics from his collection adorning the grand drawing room (fig.1).
The luxurious and exotic style of these vases captures the height of the popularity of chinoiserie that was sweeping through Europe in the 18th century. In response to the current European taste, elements of the Baroque and Rococo aesthetic infiltrated the Chinese craftsman’s repertoire. Traditional Chinese motifs were synthesized with Western styles, as indicated by the elaborate lambrequin borders on the neck and shoulder, which combine richly-patterned grounds, leafy tendrils, and C-scrolls with shaped panels containing various auspicious Chinese motifs. This fanciful Europeanized Chinese design is also seen in the extensive gilding and asymmetrical composition.
While 'soldier' vases were frequently enameled with phoenixes and flowers, it is particularly unusual to find examples depicting pheasants. The craftsman has cleverly captured the exoticism of phoenixes by rendering the pheasants with vibrant, long-flowing feathers.
'Soldier' vase examples exist in blue and white, iron-red and gilt, Imari, and famille-rose palettes. Most of these are now found in the West and it is generally assumed that they were made for the export market, however a rare subset of 'soldier' vases bearing figural motifs might suggest the presence of a concurrent domestic market for these vessels. Among this group are a pair of vases illustrating Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West) riding on a phoenix and greeted by elegant ladies and auspicious animals, sold in our London rooms, 4th November 1969, lot 182, and again in these rooms, 29th March 2011, lot 2; and a pair depicting ladies on a terrace playing a game of go, that pair was also formerly in the collection of Alfred Morrison at Fonthill House, and was sold at Christie's, London, 18th October, 1971, lot 30, and then in our Paris rooms, 27th June, 2001, lot 316.
Comparable vases of this size with elaborately decorated borders, but painted with phoenixes amongst flowers, include a pair in the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, illustrated in Maria Antonia Pinto de Matos, Porcelana Chinesa/Chinese Porcelain, Lisbon, 2003, pl. 58; a pair, from the collection of Edmund de Rothschild, Esq. T.D., sold twice at Christie’s London, 28th July 1975, lot 181, and again, 10th June 1996, lot 135; and a single vase, from the collection of the Hon. Mrs. Ronal Greville, published in G.C. Williamson, The Book of Famille Rose, London, 1927, pl. LVII (left).
The terms ‘soldier’ or ‘dragoon’ are frequently applied to vases of this massive size after an event in 1717, when Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and inveterate porcelain collector, traded a regiment of 600 soldiers for a group of porcelain including several blue and white Kangxi period vases of this monumental size. Those vases came from the collection of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and had been housed within his own porcelain collection at Schloss Oranienburg.
This pair of 'soldier' vases was formerly in the collection of Alfred Morrison (1821-1897) and was displayed at Fonthill House in Wiltshire, England. After inheriting Fonthill House in 1857, Morrison commissioned the internationally renowned architect, Owen Jones (1809-1874), to design a room in an opulent cinquecento (16th century) style to house his collection of Chinese ceramics, one of the most significant western collections of Chinese ceramics in modern history. Photographs of the interior of Fonthill, taken in June 1988, show a number of large 'soldier' vases, including one of the present pair, along with other Chinese ceramics from his collection adorning the grand drawing room (fig.1).