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Lot Essay
The inscription on the first vase titled Taxue xunmei, 'Finding plum while treading on snow', states that this vase, made in Kuangshan by (He) Xuren, also known as He Chu, was commissioned in the Guiyou year, corresponding to 1933, by Zhang Jiaxu as a wedding gift to his brother Kerong. The inscription on the second vase, with the title Meige jiayan, 'Fine banquet in the Plum Pavilion', indicated that it was also made by He Xuren and commissioned again by Zhang Jiaxu in the same year as a celebratory gift to Madamn Wenhui.
He Xuren (1882-1940) was one of the eight ceramic masters of the early 20th century known as the Zhushan Bayou, 'Eight Friends of Zhushan'. He is renowned for his paintings of snow-covered landscapes on porcelain. Refer for example to a porcelain plaque signed Xuren and decorated with a snow-covered riverscape rendered in similar style and palette as that on the current vases, illustrated by Xiong Zhongfu in Zhushan Bayou, Shanghai, 2008, p. 87.
He Xuren (1882-1940) was one of the eight ceramic masters of the early 20th century known as the Zhushan Bayou, 'Eight Friends of Zhushan'. He is renowned for his paintings of snow-covered landscapes on porcelain. Refer for example to a porcelain plaque signed Xuren and decorated with a snow-covered riverscape rendered in similar style and palette as that on the current vases, illustrated by Xiong Zhongfu in Zhushan Bayou, Shanghai, 2008, p. 87.