A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE SOLDIER VASES AND COVERS

19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE SOLDIER VASES AND COVERS
19th century
Each enameled in a rich famille rose palette with a pair of phoenixes standing on rockwork amidst a profusion of blossoming tree peony above a lappet band at the foot, the shoulder encircled by foliate pendants alternating with floral cartouches on a pink diaper-patterned cloud collar, the domed cover decorated en suite below a gilt knop finial
41in. (104.2cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

Compare the pair of similar age sold Christie's New York, 20 March 2001, lot 285. This massive form, an extraordinary accomplishment of the Chinese potters and far beyond what any European factory was able to produce, was first made early in the 18th century. It took the name "soldier vases" or "dragoon vases" after the story of Frederick Augustus I (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony, King of Poland, avid collector of Chinese porcelain and founder of the Meissen factory, who traded a regiment of soldiers for a set of such vases. A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, p. 250, illustrates the 18th century prototype for this pair.

More from The British Interior: English Furniture, Paintings,

View All