A CHINESE PORCELAIN DAYAZHAI BOTTLE VASE
A 10% Goods and Services tax (G.S.T) will be charg… Read more
A CHINESE PORCELAIN DAYAZHAI BOTTLE VASE

Details
A CHINESE PORCELAIN DAYAZHAI BOTTLE VASE
Guangxu Period (1875-1908), enamelled in grisaille with branches of flowering peonies to the body, and lotus, bats and tendrils to the neck, turquoise interior and base, with the iron red Dayazhai mark "Abode of Great Refinement", inscribed beside an oval seal Tian di yi jia chun, "Spring in Heaven and on Earth one family", the base with an iron red mark Yong qing hang chun, "Eternal prosperity and enduring spring", 36 cm. (14 1/4 in.) high, damage and repair to neck
Special notice
A 10% Goods and Services tax (G.S.T) will be charged on the Buyer's Premium on all lots in this sale.

Lot Essay

The group of porcelains marked with the characters Dayazhai was made for the personal use of the powerful Empress Dowager, Cixi (1835-1908). Of significance is an important sub-category of Dayazhai wares which is connected to Cixi's 60th birthday in 1894. Among the decorative characteristics of this group are the inscriptions Dayazhai and Tian di yi jia chun, and the composition of flowers and insects in grisaille against a yellow ground. Compare with a related jardiniere and covered food box from the Weishaupt collection, illustrated by G. Avitabile, From the Dragon's Treasure, London, 1987, pls. 158 and 159 respectively. Ronald W. Longsdorf, in his article 'Dayazhai Ware: Porcelains of the Empress Dowager', Orientations, March 1992, p. 46, suggests that the technique of grisaille painting on yellow ground is 'reminiscent of ink painting, especially with the seal mark and 'Da ya zhai' inscription in the same vermilion used for stamping seal marks on paper.'

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