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Lot Essay
In her comments on this vase in the exhibition catalogue Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, p. 78, Dr. Julia Curtis notes that it is one of a small group of porcelains from the early Kangxi period decorated in the style of the painter Mi Fu. A large vase from this group, from the Collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 43.
Mi Fu's paintings were admired and emulated by 17th century Chinese painters such as Dong Qiching (1555-1636). The style of the mountains on the present vase can be compared to those in a painting attributed to Dong Qiching, Landscape in the Style of Mi Fu, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (fig. 1)
Dr. Curtis also notes that decoration on this vase depicts an actual mountain peak near Nanjing, which according to Ho and Smith in Century of Tung Ch’i-ch’ang, pls. 125-12, 164-14, was also painted by the Orthodox Masters Wang Jian and Wang Hui in 1663 and 1672 respectively. (ibid., p. 78)
Mi Fu's paintings were admired and emulated by 17th century Chinese painters such as Dong Qiching (1555-1636). The style of the mountains on the present vase can be compared to those in a painting attributed to Dong Qiching, Landscape in the Style of Mi Fu, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (fig. 1)
Dr. Curtis also notes that decoration on this vase depicts an actual mountain peak near Nanjing, which according to Ho and Smith in Century of Tung Ch’i-ch’ang, pls. 125-12, 164-14, was also painted by the Orthodox Masters Wang Jian and Wang Hui in 1663 and 1672 respectively. (ibid., p. 78)