Lot 142
142
A FINE AND VERY RARE IMPERIAL BLUE AND WHITE 'NINE DRAGON' VASE
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more THE PROPERTY OF A ENGLISH COLLECTOR This vase is exceptionally rare, and the only other published example, which is identical in size, shape and design is preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (see Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty II, Cafa Company Ltd., Hong Kong, 1968, pp. 40-41, pl. 10). A comparison of every aspect of the two vases suggests the probability that they were originally a pair. Not only is the similarity of their appearance immediately apparent, closer examination reveals they even share many less obvious details such as the unusual band of uneven blue wash at the junction of the neck and body, and the somewhat sketchy quality of the line around the lower part of the foot. The masterly rendition of the lively dragons in a complex design of lingzhi scrolls on both vases is also undoubtedly by the same hand. The high quality of its execution in the potting and painting, and the use of the finest cobalt blue, coupled with the incorporation of the sacred number 'nine' in its design, indicate that the vase was exclusively reserved for the use of the emperor himself. The prolific use of lingzhi suggests a repeated wish of longevity, and may indicate that these vases were made for an imperial birthday celebration. One of the most auspicious motifs in the Chinese decorator's repertoire is the lingzhi fungus. The name literally means 'divine branch' or 'efficacious branch', and is usually identified with the fruiting body of species of fungi belonging to the Polyporacae family, which are rare in north China, but more common in the south. The lingzhi fungi are usually quite darkly coloured and achieve a rich, lacquer-like sheen on their surface, which makes them popular for decoration. These fungi grow on the roots or trunks of trees, and instead of decaying, like most other fungi, they become woody and appear to survive indefinitely. It is this latter quality, and the fact that they are believed to grow near springs in the vicinity of the abodes of the immortals, that has contributed to their reputation as conveyors of long life. One of the trees on whose roots the fungi grow is the pine, which itself is associated with longevity. Pine resin was also one of the substances used by Daoists who sought immortality, and the woody lingzhi was sometimes regarded as being transformed pine resin, adding to the belief that it could convey long life. A famous scene from the well-known Chinese opera Baishezhuan has Lady White Snake stealing a lingzhi fungus in order to save the life of her husband. Because the shape of the fungi often resembles the head of ruyi sceptres, it is associated with the ruyi and its meaning of 'everything as you wish it'. Another belief in relation to these lingzhi fungi was that they would appear when a virtuous ruler was on the throne and the empire was peaceful and prosperous. Needless to say this made them very popular with Chinese emperors, to the extent that when one such fungus was discovered during the reign of the Western Han dynasty emperor Wudi (r. 141-87 BC), he reportedly wrote poems in its praise, declared an amnesty for all prisoners, and donated food and wine to a hundred households. The association with longevity was also borne out, since at 54 years his reign was one of the longest in imperial history. It is interesting to note that the present porcelain vase was made for a Qing dynasty emperor who reigned even longer than Wudi. The Qianlong emperor's reign lasted from 1736 to 1795, and was brought to a close only by his decision to abdicate, as a filial act, in order to ensure that he did not occupy the throne longer than his revered grandfather, the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722). While the basic shape of the current vase seems to have derived from the classic trumpet-mouth vases of earlier periods, the turned-down mouth may ultimately derive from the vases with lobed turned-down mouths from the 12th and 13th century. These latter vases were made at the Jun kilns and the Cizhou kilns, as well as among the qingbai vases from the Jingdezhen kilns (see R. Kerr, Song Ceramics, V&A Publications, London, 2004, p. 32, no. 22; T. Mikami, Sekai Toji Zenshu 13 Liao Jin Yuan, Shogakukan, Tokyo, pp. 110-11, no. 92; and S. Pierson (ed.), Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Percival David Foundation, London, 2002, pp. 136-7, no. 71, respectively). The turned-down mouth also appears on blue and white vessels of the Xuande reign, such as the lobed vase in the National Palace Museum collection (see National Palace Museum, Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 80-81, no.13) (fig.2), which is also decorated with lingzhi sprays. However, the distinctive lappet-shape of the mouth rim on the current vase appears to be a Qianlong period innovation. A famille rose vase from the Qianlong period in the Palace Museum, Beijing, also has a lappet-shaped rim and is remarkably similar in shape with the current vase, although with somewhat more attenuated proportions (see Views of Antiquity in the Qing Imperial Palace: special exhibition to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, Museu de Arte de Macau, 2006, p. 25, no. 52.). Similarly shaped mouth rims can also be seen on a celadon-glazed gu-shaped vase (see Kangxi,Yongzheng, Qianlong - Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Forbidden City Publishing House The Woods Publishing Co., Hong Kong, 1989, p. 461, no. 143) and a famille rose vase enamelled with the Eight Daoist Immortals (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with cloisonné enamel decoration and famille rose decoration, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 1999, p.137, no. 120), both in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. The elaborate lingzhi fungus scrolls on the current vase have their origins in the finely painted lingzhi scrolls seen on a small number of imperial Xuande blue and white vessels, such as the pear-shaped vase from the Qing court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing (see Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 34 Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 97, no. 91), and the small globular jar in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan (see National Palace Museum, Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 92-3, no. 19). The dragons holding lingzhi fungus on the current vase, probably derive from the powerful chi dragons, also with wind-swept manes, that appear on large imperial meiping vases of the Xuande reign (illustrated in see Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1998, p. 18, no. 8-1) and revived in the Wanli period (Wang Qing-zheng (ed.), Undeglaze Blue and Red, Shanghai Museum/Woods Publishing, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 106, no. 100), on which a four-clawed dragon is shown with a sprig of fungus clasped in its mouth. Five-clawed dragons with lingzhi clasped in their mouths also appear on a few smaller Imperial porcelains from the Xuande reign, such as the imperial cricket box excavated at the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen (see ibid. p. 69, no. 59-1). Although the shape of the current vase seems somewhat playful, the overall appearance is balanced by the restrained blue and white palette and the archaistic Ming-style painting. The deep, intense cobalt blue and the fine painting style are reminiscent of those on the Ming-style pieces of the Yongzheng period, which could indicate that this pair of vases was made in the early part of the Qianlong period. The spotted dragons could also have derived from Yongzheng prototypes, such as the spotted chi dragons seen on a pair of doucai mallet-shaped vases in the Tianjin Municipal Museum (see Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Cultural Relics Publishing House The Woods Publishing Company, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.161). These spotted chi dragons are also depicted holding lingzhi sprays, and with similar hair-like mane. Further examples of the spotted chi dragons snatching lingzhi, this time in underglaze copper red with the fungus painted in underglaze blue, can be seen on another Yongzheng vase, a tianqiuping, now in the collection of Palace Museum, Beijing (see Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong - Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, op. cit., p. 190, no. 19). In the following reign these chi dragons appear on a pair of underglaze red double-gourd vases of the Qianlong period now on display in the Suianshi (Room of Encountering Peace) in the Yangxindian in the Forbidden City, Beijing (illustrated in Qingdai gongting shenghuo, Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 177). However, it appears that spotted dragons in the fully-grown form and without the bifurcated tails, as they appear on the current vase and its companion in the National Palace Museum, Taipei are extremely rare. The proliferation of lingzhi fungi on this vase and that in the National Palace Museum is exceptional, and each one is painted with great care and attention to detail. The shape of the mouth of the vase was rarely attempted by potters, almost certainly because of the difficulties in firing such a form, and the beautifully painted lingzhi on each lappet of the mouth appear to be unique to this vase and the vessel in the National Palace Museum. With their elegant form, beautifully painted, rich blue, decoration and auspicious message, the Qianlong emperor must have been delighted with these vases. Their auspicious message was also appropriate, for the emperor presided over one of the last great periods of Chinese imperial history, was still riding out to hunt at 86, and lived to the ripe old age of 89.
A FINE AND VERY RARE IMPERIAL BLUE AND WHITE 'NINE DRAGON' VASE

UNDERGLAZE BLUE QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEALMARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-95)

Details
A FINE AND VERY RARE IMPERIAL BLUE AND WHITE 'NINE DRAGON' VASE
UNDERGLAZE BLUE QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEALMARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-95)
Strongly potted with an ovoid body and standing on a slightly splayed base, the cylindrical neck joined to the body with a stepped junction, and tapering towards the wide, out-turned mouth rim, the rim shaped into nine lappets each painted with a naturalistic lingzhi fungus, the body painted in an intense cobalt blue, simulating Ming dynasty 'heaping and piling' effect, with five, spotted, three-clawed dragons amongst lingzhi scrolls, each dragon shown in a different position with one of its clawed feet holding a fungus, the neck similarly painted with two pairs of confronting dragons, making the total number of the dragons depicted on the vase nine, the shoulder painted with a band of ruyi lappets, and the base painted with a petal band above a band of lingzhi scrolls
14 in. (35.5 cm.) high
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

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