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Lot Essay
The vase is well potted in baluster form with an angular sloping shoulder rising to a broad waisted neck surmounted by a galleried rim. It is finely moulded and carved all around with five registers of archaistic scrollwork, the central frieze with an undulating band filled with formal ring and hook motifs, between bands of stylised animals, and with lappet borders at the extreme ends. It is covered with an even glaze of soft sea-green tone.
The exquisite vase exemplifies a perfect fusion of meticulous technical craftsmanship and deliberate archaism, evident in its refined celadon glaze and in its form and decorative motifs derived from ancient bronze prototypes. Specifically, the present vase was inspired by Western Zhou bronze lei.
During the Shang dynasty, bronze vessels were revered as ritual objects, symbolising power. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the trend of antiquarianism grew stronger among scholars. People at the time believed that bronze vessels, having absorbed the essence of the earth over centuries, were ideal for flower arrangements. Therefore, using them as flower holders became highly fashionable. See the painting Gathering in a Bamboo Grove by Qiu Ying, housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection number: xin00119160, a group of scholars is depicted gathered around a table adorned with various bronze vessels (fig. 1). Among them, a gu is placed alone with a coral branch inside, serving as a flower vase. The ritual significance of bronze vessels was weakened, while their aesthetic function was amplified within the scholarly pursuit of elegance.
In the 7th year of the Jiajing reign, the Catalogue of Xuanhe Antiquities (Xuanhe Bogutu) was revised, correcting errors in the inscriptions of bronze vessels recorded during Song dynasty. This laid the foundation for its republication during the Qianlong period, and the book was later included in the Siku Quanshu. Inspired by Ming dynasty designs, many Qianlong porcelain vases imitated archaic bronze forms. The present vase, though no longer made of bronze, retains the shape and decoration of its prototype, fully highlighting its role as an elegant flower vessel for scholarly enjoyment.
The motifs on the present vase are similar to those found on an archaic bronze lei in the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated by John A. Pope et al., Freer Chinese Bronzes, vol.1, Washington DC, 1967, pl.83. Similar bands of decoration on the current vase can also be seen on a Western Zhou ding recorded in Xiqing gujian, vol.3, no.38 (fig. 2); and on the large bronze Xiao ke ding housed in the Shanghai Museum (fig. 3).
A small number of other vases of the Qianlong reign with this rare combination are published. One from the Baur Collection is illustrated by J. Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Vol.2, Geneva, 1999, pl.290; one formerly in the T.Y. Chao Collection, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 875; one from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, illustrated in Imperial Perfection: The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi - Yongzheng – Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, p.184, no.68; and one formerly in the collection of Shoken Kotaigo, wife of Emperor Meiji, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3963 (fig. 4).
The exquisite vase exemplifies a perfect fusion of meticulous technical craftsmanship and deliberate archaism, evident in its refined celadon glaze and in its form and decorative motifs derived from ancient bronze prototypes. Specifically, the present vase was inspired by Western Zhou bronze lei.
During the Shang dynasty, bronze vessels were revered as ritual objects, symbolising power. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the trend of antiquarianism grew stronger among scholars. People at the time believed that bronze vessels, having absorbed the essence of the earth over centuries, were ideal for flower arrangements. Therefore, using them as flower holders became highly fashionable. See the painting Gathering in a Bamboo Grove by Qiu Ying, housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection number: xin00119160, a group of scholars is depicted gathered around a table adorned with various bronze vessels (fig. 1). Among them, a gu is placed alone with a coral branch inside, serving as a flower vase. The ritual significance of bronze vessels was weakened, while their aesthetic function was amplified within the scholarly pursuit of elegance.
In the 7th year of the Jiajing reign, the Catalogue of Xuanhe Antiquities (Xuanhe Bogutu) was revised, correcting errors in the inscriptions of bronze vessels recorded during Song dynasty. This laid the foundation for its republication during the Qianlong period, and the book was later included in the Siku Quanshu. Inspired by Ming dynasty designs, many Qianlong porcelain vases imitated archaic bronze forms. The present vase, though no longer made of bronze, retains the shape and decoration of its prototype, fully highlighting its role as an elegant flower vessel for scholarly enjoyment.
The motifs on the present vase are similar to those found on an archaic bronze lei in the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated by John A. Pope et al., Freer Chinese Bronzes, vol.1, Washington DC, 1967, pl.83. Similar bands of decoration on the current vase can also be seen on a Western Zhou ding recorded in Xiqing gujian, vol.3, no.38 (fig. 2); and on the large bronze Xiao ke ding housed in the Shanghai Museum (fig. 3).
A small number of other vases of the Qianlong reign with this rare combination are published. One from the Baur Collection is illustrated by J. Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Vol.2, Geneva, 1999, pl.290; one formerly in the T.Y. Chao Collection, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 875; one from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, illustrated in Imperial Perfection: The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi - Yongzheng – Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, p.184, no.68; and one formerly in the collection of Shoken Kotaigo, wife of Emperor Meiji, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3963 (fig. 4).