An extremely rare ruby-ground famille-rose 'phoenix'-handled vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 洋彩胭脂紫地暗八仙雙鳳耳瓶 《大清乾隆年製》款

Collection of Mrs Catherine Teresa Santry, gifted to her husband in the 1980s.

Marchant, London.

Catherine Teresa Santry 夫人收藏，1980年代丈夫送贈

馬錢特，倫敦

This magnificent vase is remarkable not only for its high quality of enamelling which represents the zenith of such technique during the Qianlong period (1736-95), but also the unusual selection of auspicious emblems depicted, and the intricate phoenix handles.

Inserted among the formal flower scrolls on the body of this vase are the Eight Daoist Emblems (anbaxian), which are relatively rarely seen on Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) porcelains, compared to their Buddhist counterparts (bajixiang). They represent the attributes of the Eight Daoist Immortals: the fan of Chongli Quan, the gourd and iron crutch of Li Tieguai, the fish drum of Zhang Guolao, the lotus of He Xiangu, the basket of flowers of Lan Caihe, the sword and fly-whisk of Lü Dongbin, the pair of clappers of Cao Guojiu, and the flute of Han Xiangzi. A few Qianlong vessels with anbaxian amid flower and leafy scrolls have been recorded; see, for example, a large doucai and famille rose vase sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2008, lot 8888. The chime on the neck of this vase is homophonous with the Chinese word for celebration (qing). A similar pun is incorporated in the decoration of a pair of red-ground yangcai mallet-shaped vases created in the 8th year of the Qianlong reign, from the Qing Court collection and now preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession nos gu-ci-17957 and gu-ci-17958), illustrated in Liao Pao-show ed., Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch'ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008, pl. 31. Adorned with emblems that have long been associated with longevity, references to celebration through the chime and the overall red colour of the vessel, this vase would have been a birthday gift tailor-made for sending auspicious wishes.

See a similar vase painted also with formalised flowers and the Eight Daoist Emblems against a ruby-red ground, but with a slightly more angled shoulder and handles of ruyi shape, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 127. Compare also a related Qianlong ruby-ground vase, with an oviform body painted with stylised flowers and bats, flanked by a pair of yellow chilong handles, but of smaller size, measuring 18.5 cm in height, and the shoulder with bands of key-fret and ruyi heads, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1547.

本品雙鳳耳器形，典雅富麗，洋彩紋飾，寓意祥瑞，華緻絕倫，彰顯乾隆御窰造瓷技藝之巔峰。

瓶身纏枝花卉紋，間綴暗八仙紋，與明清瓷器上較為常見之八吉祥紋相較，如此搭配甚少。暗八仙紋：葫蘆為李鐵拐，芭蕉扇乃鍾離權，花籃屬藍采和，魚鼓為張果老，荷花何仙姑，寶劍乃呂洞賓，笛者韓湘子，笏板曹國舅。現知相類花卉紋搭配暗八仙紋乾隆窰作例，如一件大型鬪彩加粉彩瓶，2008年5月30日售於香港佳士得，編號8888。本品瓶身頸部飾「磬」紋，音「慶」，意謂慶賀，可比較一對洋彩紙槌瓶，造於乾隆八年，現藏於台北故宮博物院（館藏編號：故瓷17957、故瓷17958），刊載於廖寶秀編，《華麗彩瓷》，台北，2008年，圖版31。本品紋飾寓意賀祝高壽，「磬」紋喜慶，洋彩鮮豔大方，應特為萬壽節所製之慶賀大禮。

參考一件胭脂紅地暗八仙紋例，瓶肩較方綴如意耳，藏於北京故宮博物院，錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：琺瑯彩、粉彩》，香港，1999年，圖版127。並比較一件乾隆胭脂紅地雙螭龍耳瓶，瓶身繪花卉蝙蝠紋，螭龍耳施黃彩，尺寸較小約18.5公分高，肩綴回紋與如意雲頭紋，2008年5月27日售於香港佳士得，編號1547。