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Lot Essay
The extraordinary effect of this glaze is achieved by applying an opaque stippled turquoise glaze colored with copper and made opaque by mixing the arsenic as an opacifier. Rose Kerr noted in Chinese Ceramics, Porcelain of the Qing dynasty, London, 1986, p. 88, that while visual examination reveals there to be two distinctive types of robin’s-egg glaze, one streaked with copper-red and the other stippled with blotches of turquoise and dark blue, further analysis is required to clarify the chemistry of these glazes. The robin’s-egg glaze was a monochrome glaze first invented in the Yongzheng reign. The peacock-feather glaze appears to be closely related to the more common robin’s-egg glaze, but the former is much rarer, possibly due to the difficulty in successfully achieving its desired effect.
Peacock feather-glazed jardinières of this exact form are very rare. The closest example is the Yongzheng-marked celadon-glazed example of comparable size (22.8 cm. long) with plain sides and ruyi-bracket feet, in the Wang Xing Lou Collection, illustrated in Imperial Perfection, The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi - Yongzheng - Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 182-83, no. 67, where it is noted that shallow jardinières or penjing (pot landscapes) of this type "were used for miniature gardens or single bonsai trees", which were popular in the Qing palace. Two other celadon-glazed examples of larger size have been published: one (46.2 cm.) that has plain sides and no feet was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2009, lot 1889; and the other (37.3 cm.), raised on three pairs of bracket feet, is illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 60-61, no. 13.
For an example of a robin’s egg-glazed jardinière of round lobed form, see an example illustrated in Treasures from Japan: Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from Yamanaka & Co., Ltd. and other Japanese Collections, Beijing, 2019, p. 107, no. 107. The inspiration for the shape of the present and Wang Xing Lou jardinières may have been Song dynasty prototypes, such as the rectangular Jun example in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong 1996, p. 23, pl. 19, which also has an everted rim and is raised on ruyi feet.
While the present vessel was originally made in the imperial kilns and intended to function as a jardinière, it has been appreciated among Bonsai connoisseurs since its entry into Japan in the mid-twentieth century.
The cultivation of bonsai, (literally ‘tree planted in a dish’) began in China more than 2,000 years ago. Gardeners of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) replicated real landscapes in miniature, introducing trees, rocky outcrops, rivers and even tiny houses into compositions placed in shallow dishes. This branch of art is known as penjing and from it developed the more refined art of bonsai, where an individual tree becomes the focus of the horticulturist’s efforts. Miniature cypresses, plum trees, pines and even bamboos are depicted growing in trays in paintings dating from the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century AD.
Bonsai arrived in Japan in the 8th century and the style of Bonsai today was formed around the 13th century. Bonsai was first practiced and appreciated by Buddhist monks, the aristocracy, and the samurai, but by the 18th-19th centuries, became a popular pursuit for the Japanese people. The highest quality Bonsai have been regarded as unique collectors’ items since the Meiji period, and have been appreciated by renowned Japanese connoisseurs of art such as Iwasaki Yanosuke, Nezu Kaichiro and Nakano Chutaro.
After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, a number of Chinese Yixing wares were imported into Japan to be used as bonsai pots. The present jardinière likely came to Japan during this period, and was later sold in a 1957 auction organized by the Tokyo Bonsai Club of over four-hundred Bonsai wares from an anonymous Japanese family collection. It was then passed down through collectors and connoisseurs to the present owner, Nobuyoshi Ikeda. Ikeda has been a bonsai practitioner for 35 years, winning first prize four times in the Kokufu Bonsai ten, the oldest and most prestigious bonsai contest in Japan. Ikeda possesses many bonsai, including one registered as kicho bonsai, a title given by the Nippon Bonsai Association in order to preserve bonsai of exquisite aesthetic value and academic importance. Since acquiring the present jardinière, Ikeda has appreciated it both as an important work of art from the Qing imperial kilns as well as for its subtle beauty and historical importance in both China and Japan.
Peacock feather-glazed jardinières of this exact form are very rare. The closest example is the Yongzheng-marked celadon-glazed example of comparable size (22.8 cm. long) with plain sides and ruyi-bracket feet, in the Wang Xing Lou Collection, illustrated in Imperial Perfection, The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi - Yongzheng - Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 182-83, no. 67, where it is noted that shallow jardinières or penjing (pot landscapes) of this type "were used for miniature gardens or single bonsai trees", which were popular in the Qing palace. Two other celadon-glazed examples of larger size have been published: one (46.2 cm.) that has plain sides and no feet was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2009, lot 1889; and the other (37.3 cm.), raised on three pairs of bracket feet, is illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 60-61, no. 13.
For an example of a robin’s egg-glazed jardinière of round lobed form, see an example illustrated in Treasures from Japan: Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from Yamanaka & Co., Ltd. and other Japanese Collections, Beijing, 2019, p. 107, no. 107. The inspiration for the shape of the present and Wang Xing Lou jardinières may have been Song dynasty prototypes, such as the rectangular Jun example in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong 1996, p. 23, pl. 19, which also has an everted rim and is raised on ruyi feet.
While the present vessel was originally made in the imperial kilns and intended to function as a jardinière, it has been appreciated among Bonsai connoisseurs since its entry into Japan in the mid-twentieth century.
The cultivation of bonsai, (literally ‘tree planted in a dish’) began in China more than 2,000 years ago. Gardeners of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) replicated real landscapes in miniature, introducing trees, rocky outcrops, rivers and even tiny houses into compositions placed in shallow dishes. This branch of art is known as penjing and from it developed the more refined art of bonsai, where an individual tree becomes the focus of the horticulturist’s efforts. Miniature cypresses, plum trees, pines and even bamboos are depicted growing in trays in paintings dating from the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century AD.
Bonsai arrived in Japan in the 8th century and the style of Bonsai today was formed around the 13th century. Bonsai was first practiced and appreciated by Buddhist monks, the aristocracy, and the samurai, but by the 18th-19th centuries, became a popular pursuit for the Japanese people. The highest quality Bonsai have been regarded as unique collectors’ items since the Meiji period, and have been appreciated by renowned Japanese connoisseurs of art such as Iwasaki Yanosuke, Nezu Kaichiro and Nakano Chutaro.
After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, a number of Chinese Yixing wares were imported into Japan to be used as bonsai pots. The present jardinière likely came to Japan during this period, and was later sold in a 1957 auction organized by the Tokyo Bonsai Club of over four-hundred Bonsai wares from an anonymous Japanese family collection. It was then passed down through collectors and connoisseurs to the present owner, Nobuyoshi Ikeda. Ikeda has been a bonsai practitioner for 35 years, winning first prize four times in the Kokufu Bonsai ten, the oldest and most prestigious bonsai contest in Japan. Ikeda possesses many bonsai, including one registered as kicho bonsai, a title given by the Nippon Bonsai Association in order to preserve bonsai of exquisite aesthetic value and academic importance. Since acquiring the present jardinière, Ikeda has appreciated it both as an important work of art from the Qing imperial kilns as well as for its subtle beauty and historical importance in both China and Japan.