A FINE AND RARE BLUE AND WHITE EWERSEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG |

superbly potted, the generous pear-shaped body rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck flaring at the rim, set on one side with a curved spout joined to the neck by a cloud-shaped strut, opposite the arched strap handle adorned by grooves and surmounted by a small loop on top and accented with three knobs of clay at the base, imitating metalwork studs, finely painted in deep cobalt-blue tones with simulated 'heaping and piling', with a quatrefoil panel on either side, one enclosing a branch of peaches with two fruit among blossoms and foliage, the other with a branch of loquat with many stylised fruit, the panels flanked by flowers of the 'Four Seasons' with pomegranate, peony, chrysanthemum and camellia, all between the neck collared by lotus scroll and upright plantain leaves, and the foot skirted with a band of upright lappet petals, the spout decorated with a foliate scroll, with ruyi-clouds on the strut and sprays of lingzhi on the handle, inscribed on the base with a six-character seal mark

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1986, lot 43.

Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 59.
Blue and White Porcelain from the Tianminlou Collection, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1992, cat. no. 84.
Tianminlou qinghua ci tezhan [Special exhibition of blue and white porcelain from the Tianminlou collection], Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 1996.

Rosemary E. Scott, ‘Archaism and Invention: Sources of Ceramic Design in the Ming and Qing Dynasties’, George Kuwayama ed., New Perspectives on the Art of Ceramics in China, Los Angeles, 1992, p. 87, pl. 21.
Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, no. 90.

The ewer is in very good condition, with only expected firing flaws such as a firing split to where the strut connects with the neck, and a stained glaze crackle to the opposite side where the strut meets the spout.
"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."

Striking for its elegant and well-proportioned form, flawless potting and carefully executed motif, this ewer represents one of the most successful porcelain designs of the Qianlong reign and belongs to an exclusive group of wares made to imitate early 15th century porcelains. The decoration is notable for its bold and vigorous rendering in brilliant hues of cobalt and reflects the high level of resources available to the potters working at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. The Qianlong Emperor’s reverence for Ming dynasty porcelain is well recorded and he is known to have commissioned close reproductions of such pieces. Ewers of this elegant form were first made in the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, and are known with a variety of motifs, including flower scrolls, garden scenes and fruit. Their form and the use of quatrefoil panels as decorative devices date back to the Yuan dynasty. However, the motif of peaches and loquats and the surrounding ‘Flowers of the Four Seasons’, which include rose, peony, chrysanthemum and camellia, would have resonated with significance among the Ming aristocracy and literati elite. One of China’s most auspicious fruit, the peach is an omen of longevity and harbinger of happiness, while the loquat embodies the spirit of the four seasons: it buds in autumn, blossoms in winter, sets fruit in spring and ripens in summer.

Copies of Ming prototypes were first created in the Yongzheng reign, but became more popular during the Qianlong period, when the original design was successfully transformed to suit contemporary taste. The effectiveness of the Qing version lies in its reinterpretation of the original design as displayed in the more linear rendering of the flowers and leaves and the composition of the design to complement the elegant form. Furthermore, while attempting to imitate the sought-after ‘heaping and piling effect’ of 15th century examples with the deliberate application of darker spots of cobalt, craftsmen skilfully reproduced the ripening skin of the fruits and turning of leaves.

Vases of this form are held in important museums and private collections worldwide; a closely related ewer from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Gugong Bowuguan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue-and-white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pl. 210; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is published in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1968, vol. II, pl. 14; another in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. III, pl. 2565; and a slightly larger example in the Nanjing Museum is illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 214. See also a closely related ewer from the Meiyintang collection, sold twice in these rooms, 26th October 1993, lot 179, and 4th April 2012, lot 28; and another with its matching cover from the Malcolm collection, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, London, 1953, cat. no. 311, and sold in our London rooms, 5th July 1977, lot 247.

Ewers of this form and design continued to be produced in the succeeding reigns; a Jiaqing mark and period version in the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Gugong Bowuguan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. II, pl. 249; and a pair of ewers with Daoguang marks and of the period, from the Ohlmer collection in the Roemer-Museum, Hildeshein, are published in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pls 71 and 72.

For the Yongle prototype of this form and design see a ewer recovered from the Yongle stratum of the Imperial kiln site at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, included in the exhibition Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 59; and one with a cover, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the Museum’s exhibition Imperial Porcelains from the Reigns of Hongwu and Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, cat. no. 94.