QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A VERY RARE 'TOPER' FLASK
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
A European merchant sits on a floral-enameled barrel, smiling as he grasps his ample paunch, a handle at his back and a European metal spigot affixed between his legs to dispense liquid filled through his hat
13 in. (33 cm.) high

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 7 April 1997, lot 110.

Literature

William R. Sargent, Chinese Porcelain in the Conde Collection, Madrid, 2014, p.238

Brought to you by

Becky MacGuire

bmacguire@christies.com +1 212 636 2211

Lot Essay

A small number of these 'toper' (archaic English for drunkard) flasks are known, all modeled after European faience fashionable in the mid-18th century. An example in the Mottahedeh Collection was illustrated by Howard & Ayers (op cit, p. 620); another is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Jourdain & Jenyns, Chinese Export Art, no. 73).

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