IRON-RED QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEALMARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-95)

Details

A RARE FAMILLE ROSE BLUE-GROUND TWO-HANDLED PEAR-SHAPED VASE
IRON-RED QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEALMARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-95)
With globular body supported on a slightly spreading circular foot and with a flaring cylindrical neck issuing from a rounded flange, applied with two gilt ruyi-shaped handles, each suspending a wan symbol attached by a ribbon and tied in a bow, enamelled around the body with four large equidistant stylised lotuses borne on curled leafy stems linking further smaller blossoms, the neck similarly decorated with two musical stones suspending lotuses, the flange with a band of florettes and scrolling foliage below upright leaves and above pink trefoils, all between a band of pink trefoils below the spotted gilt and iron-red rim, and bands of upright lappets, pendent ruyi and further florettes around the foot, the interior and base turquoise
14½ in. (37 cm.) high

Provenance

Alfred Morrison Collection
Fonthill Heirlooms label, no. 525

Special notice

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Lot Essay

An identical vase, possibly the pair to the present lot, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 1997, lot 755. It is noteworthy that in the Qianlong period, coloured-ground famille rose vases are often made with fancy handles. Three examples in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of Palace Museum: Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, nos. 118, 126 and 127, have similar ruyi-shaped handles suspending ribbons and emblems. A pair of lime-green vases similar in shape to the present lot and also from the Alfred Morrison Collection in the Fonthill House, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 May 1995, lot 673. This group of vases is often decorated with flamboyant enamels combined with eccentric shapes, and reflect the contemporary court taste.

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