A FAMILLE-VERTE 'LANDSCAPE' VASE QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

of slender ovoid form surmounted by a trumpet neck with flared rim, painted in vibrant hues with a lakeside landscape, the rocky peninsulas zigzagging into the distance punctuated with waterfront studios and reclusive scholars, birds flying in formation above, a lone fisherman pulling in his catch, the rounded shoulder with concentric bands of chevron, keyfret, and ruyi heads in iron red, and with slender black-enameled bamboo branching up the neck, coll. no. 120 

Sotheby's London, 14th May 1996, lot 67.
The Chinese Porcelain Company, Ltd., New York, 1997.

The Art of the Qing Potter, Important Chinese Export Porcelain, The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 1997, cat. no. 13.

The Chinese Porcelain Company, A Dealer's Record 1985-2000, New York, 2000, p. 117.
Jeffrey P. Stamen and Cynthia Volk with Yibin Ni, A Culture Revealed, Kangxi-Era Chinese Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, Bruges, 2017, cat. no. 48.

The vase is in overall good condition with very light wear and minor firing imperfections. The foot ring with one small chip and a minute potting flaw.
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.

The bold linear style of painting on the present vase is a superb example of late ‘Master of the Rocks’ style. Initially produced in underglaze blue, this later iteration in overglaze enamels retains the angularity but refrains from the pronounced linearity and the dots and stippling used to depict foliage. The style cannot be attributed to any single artist or studio but reflects the profound influence of certain late Ming dynasty painters such as Dong Qichang, Li Shida, Gu Tianchi, Yang Wencong, and Wang Jianzhang. The jagged quality of the rockwork is softened by the rounder, more delicate strokes used for the foliage and the pale washes forming water and sky. The tiny habitations convey the longing for scholarly retreat far from the pressures of dynastic change and bureaucratic demands. For more on the topic see Stephen Little, ‘Seventeenth Century Landscape Painting and the Decoration of Chinese Ceramics’, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century, China Institute Gallery, New York, 1995, pp. 35-41. A pair of vases of similar form, but with integral porcelain stands, in the collection of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild is illustrated in Regina Krahl, The Anthony de Rothschild Collection of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, London, 1996, cat. no. 151.