A FINE SMALL BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' JAR AND COVER

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J. Insley Blair- A Gentleman Collector Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director Asian Art J. Insley Blair belonged to the group of pioneering collectors of Chinese art in America, among whom the earliest members were collectors such as W. T. Walters and S.P Avery, followed by W. L. Andrews, William Rockefeller, William M. Laffan, H.O. Havemeyer, George P. Warren, Benjamin Altman and J.P. Morgan. Numerous photographs of J. Insley Blair (1876-1939) and his wife Natalie (née Knowlton, 1883-1951) provide an impression of a couple who led an active outdoor and social life. There are pictures of Natalie playing tennis (fig. 1) and golf, canoeing, fishing, skiing and ice skating. Like all ladies of her age and social class she is shown undertaking all of these activities wearing a long skirt and a wide-brimmed hat, something that today seems inconceivable. J. Insley Blair was also photographed engaging in a wide range of outdoor activities (fig. 2). He was apparently an excellent shot and photographs show him skeet shooting as well as hunting both deer and cougar. There are images of him riding, trout fishing and playing ice hockey. Gentlemen were allowed a little more licence in their form of dress and so he is occasionally shown without a tie and in some instances wearing chaps. Nevertheless there is a photograph of him seated outside a tent writing, wearing a suit and tie. As well as their engagement in outdoor activities, there exists a more tranquil image of J. Insley Blair seated reading in his study (fig. 3). He was also a keen photographer and there is a rather accomplished full-length self portrait taken in a mirror (fig. 4). J. Insley Blair was the grandson of John Insley Blair (1802-1899) (fig. 5) who was a first generation American born of Scottish parents. He made his money as a railway magnate and entrepreneur, becoming one of the wealthiest men of the 19th century and a generous philanthropist, one of whose donations was the funds to build Blair Hall at Princeton University. His second son, De Witt Clinton Blair (1833-1915) was J. Insley Blair's father. De Witt Clinton Blair graduated from Princeton and continued his father's business activities and philanthropy, including an expansion of Princeton's Blair Hall. When he died in 1915 the New York Times of the 17th June described his as a: 'veteran New York banker', and noted that his sons, C. Ledyard Blair and J. Insley Blair had been left the bulk of their father's estate valued at $50,000,000. It was in 1901, after seeing her win the ladies' tennis tournament at the Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, New York, that J. Insley Blair met Natalie Bennet Knowlton (fig. 6). They engaged in a long courtship, and eventually married in 1912. In 1913 they purchased a large piece of land in Tuxedo Park (figs. 7 and 8). They engaged Carrere and Hastings to build them a home in neo-Jacobean style, which would resemble an English country house. They named it Blairhame, and its likeness to a country estate was entirely in keeping with their lifestyle. As well as enjoying their sporting activities, they entertained frequently - anything from intimate dinner parties to grand large scale events. They loved to travel and made several trips to Europe. They also visited Cuba, hiring a yacht for the occasion, and also made regular trips to Canada. They had an apartment in New York, but their primary home remained Blairhame for the rest of their lives. It was at Balirhame that the major part of their collection was kept. Examination of their collections shows that they pursued this aspect of their lives with great dedication and discernment. They shared an interest in American art, and in 1919 purchased a magnificent early portrait of General George Washington, dated 1779, by Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) (fig. 9). Natalie Blair's particular interest was in American furniture, which she collected from 1916 onwards. Her passion for excellence and determination to learn all she could about the subject ensured that she built up one of the finest collections in private hands. She donated a significant proportion to various museums and galleries, but with the exception of pieces remaining in the family, the remainder was sold by Christie's New York in January 2006 (in which sale the Peale portrait of Washington was also sold). The catalogue to this sale is a testament to the quality of the furniture collection. The Chinese ceramic collection appears to have been the particular interest of J. Insley Blair. Photographs taken at Blairhame in the hall and the drawing room show his collection displayed both on the mantelpiece and in glazed cases (figs. 10 and 11). These were not large ornate pieces, but smaller vessels, carefully selected for their perfect forms and harmonious colours. In his introduction to the beautifully illustrated catalogue, The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain at Tuxedo Park New York, published in 1925, Thomas B. Clarke noted that: 'From the beginning the collector determined that he would search for and purchase only beautiful pieces that were authentic and unblemished. Mr. Blair never deviated from his rigid resolution. He decided to assemble objects of cabinet and miniature dimensions. He attained his wishes.' This tribute comes in a catalogue which Natalie Blair had privately printed for her husband J. Insley Blair in 1925. In order to commemorate his collection she had only four copies published, each numbered. Number one, the copy intended for presentation to her husband, she had printed on English hand made paper with plates especially hand coloured. This is the catalogue which is included in the current sale (lot 2125). Number two was printed on Italian hand made paper with plates in black on toned paper. Numbers three and four were printed on English hand made paper with plates in black on white paper. This catalogue is indeed a work of art in its own right. In a touching letter (fig. 12) written to Natalie Blair on 29th June 1931, following his father's death in the same year, Thomas B. Clarke Jr. says of the catalogue: 'I had often heard my dear Dad speak of the book, its beauty, and the characteristic good taste and judgement you had used in its presentation. Clarence Dearden tells me that you called him to find out what had been done with the copy you inscribed to my father, whether I had it, or wanted it.' ... 'It is one of the finest books I have ever seen, I value it as such. In addition it is inscribed in your handwriting to my father and he has signed the introduction. This makes it a highly valued treasure involving a very dear and valued friend, the donor, and the recipient, my dear Dad.' Thomas B. Clarke Jr.'s father, the author of the introduction, was a major figure in the American art world. He was a lace and linen manufacturer in New York, who began acquiring works of art in 1872 and within a decade had become one of the country's foremost collectors of contemporary American art. He was treasurer of the National Society of Arts, president of the New York School of Applied Design for Women and was also a founding member of the National Sculpture Society and the National Arts club. In addition to American art, Clarke also evinced an interest in Chinese ceramics, and thus had much in common with J. Insley Blair, as did Clarence J. Dearden, who was also involved with Chinese ceramics. J. Insley Blair selected the pieces for inclusion in his collection with considerable care, and acquired a number of items with particularly good provenance. Several of the finest pieces in the Blair Collection, including the enamelled glass brush pot and the two enamelled porcelain mallet vases (lots 2124, 2122, and 2123 respectively), came from the collection of Alfred E. Hippisley. Hippisley was English, born in Bristol, but in 1867 he joined the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs Service and held a variety of posts in Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Shanghai. He rose through a series of increasingly important appointments until in 1901 an Imperial decree appointed him Assistant Delegate to the Treaty and Tariff Commission. In 1904 he was awarded the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon - an order founded by the Guangxu Emperor for outstanding services to the throne. Alfred Hippisley worked with the American William W. Rockhill on the original formulation of the so-called 'Open door Notes', which proposed equal trading opportunities within China and, importantly, the upholding of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity. Hippisley's papers, which are preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (see M. Czepiel, Catalogue of the papers of Alfred E. Hippisley, 1842-1940, Oxford, 2007) indicate that he had a wide range of interests, but significant amongst these was his interest in Chinese porcelain, to which he devoted a good deal of time in research and collecting. He was one of the first Europeans to fully appreciate the extraordinary beauty of Qing dynasty porcelains, including those decorated in overglaze enamels. These he was readily able to purchase in China in the late Qing period. So extensive was his collection, that by the 1880s he was able to loan some three hundred Chinese porcelains - the majority dating to the Qing period - to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. These were published in the Institution's Annual Report of 1887-88. Some of the Hippisley collection was sold by the Anderson Galleries, New York in 1925, while additional pieces were sold by Sotheby's London in 1935. The Blair enamelled glass brush pot and enamelled porcelain vases appear as nos. 325, 129 and 130 in the 1890 edition of A Catalogueof The Hippisley Collection of Chinese Porcelains: With a Sketch of the History of Ceramic Art in China, published in Washington, D.C., which was reprinted in 1902 (figs. 13-15). In addition to the enamelled wares, the collection included a range of fine monochrome porcelains. These include a particularly beautiful small Kangxi amphora-shaped vase with a delicate pale blue glaze of the type known as clair de lune in Europe and tianlan or 'heavenly blue' in China (lot 2118). This was bought in 1913 at the same time as Benjamin Altman purchased an identical vase and donated it to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Interestingly both vases have identical silver stands which were made for them by Tiffany and Co., whose mark appears on both stands. Added to these monochrome wares are some porcelains with bold designs such as the rare Yongzheng blue and white cylindrical vase and cover with dragons in clouds (lot 2121), which is identical to examples in the Palace Museum, Beijing and the National Palace Museum, Taipei. The collection thus includes pieces in exquisite taste, assembled with great care by a passionate and thoughtful collector. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this property will be donated to the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salisbury Cove, Maine, a nonprofit biological research and education institution dedicated to the study of the basic biological mechanisms of cold water marine organisms. PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR. J. INSLEY BLAIR (LOTS 2110-2125) PROCEEDS IN PART TO BENEFIT THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, SALISBURY COVE, MAINE

A FINE SMALL BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' JAR AND COVER

KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)

Details

A FINE SMALL BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' JAR AND COVER
KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)
The oviform jar is finely potted with rounded shoulders rising to a short neck. The exterior is painted in vibrant blue with three upright scaly three-clawed dragons, each in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl'. The domed cover is decorated with two of the Eight Treasures, the be-ribboned coins and lozenges, alternating with clouds below a bud-shaped finial painted in blue.
6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) high overall, wood stand

Provenance

J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners

Literature

The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. X, no. 61

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Lot Essay

A smaller example with lid, measuring 11.3 cm overall in height, depicting two similarly upright three-clawed dragons and with an almost identical cover is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book I, CAFA Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 8; and two other related examples of comparable size but decorated with taotie masks and stylised dragons respectively, are illustrated, ibid., pls. 6-7. All three cited examples bear marks within double-circles, rather than being written in three vertical lines as on the present jar. A larger example (22 cm. high overall) similarly decorated with two dragons is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Palace Museum Collection of Qing Imperial Ceramics, book 1, part 1, Beijing, 2005, pl. 45. This example bears a similar mark to the present jar.

The rendition of the dragon on the present lot is characteristic of those in the Kangxi period, which is exemplified by a fierce and powerful demeanour giving an impression of authority and majesty, with finely detailed painting of the head and scales. This is a considerable development from the more freely drawn and often, more simplified, versions of the late Ming dynasty. The full-faced representation of the dragon already existed in Ming period, and became popular in the Qing, but it is from the Kangxi period onwards, as evident from the present lot, that the dragon was imbued with a greater sense of vitality and martial spirit.

Compare to a Kangxi-marked blue and white vase featuring similar vigorous dragons, formerly in the collections of J. M. Hu and Robert Chang, and previously sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1317.

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