GUANGXU SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1875-1908)

Details

A Very Rare Dated Large Blue and White Jar and Cover
Guangxu six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1875-1908)
Of sharply tapering ovoid form, each side well painted with a lengthy calligraphic inscription below a band of wan diaper interrupted by eight bat and shou medallions and the characters, Di yi quan tian xia, on the high shoulder, all within double-line borders below a short, waisted neck and ribbed mouth rim, the slightly domed cover painted with a five-claw dragon leaping amidst clouds and flames in pursuit of a flaming pearl within a medallion and double line border, with a deep inner rim that fits into the neck of the jar
16½in. (41.9cm.) high

Literature

Marilyn Fu, 'Calligraphy: The Artistry of the Written Word', Architectural Digest, May 1980, pp. 90-95.

Lot Essay

No other jar of this design appears to have been published.

The five characters on the shoulder may be translated, 'Finest Spring Water Under Heaven'. Both inscriptions appear to have been copied from text written by the Qianlong emperor. The shorter of the two inscriptions, dated to the renwu year (1762), is a poem on the theme of the Zhongling spring; the longer inscription is an ode inspired by the emperor's visit to the spring and having tasted its fresh water at the source.

Based on the inscriptions and the five characters on the shoulder, the jar appears to have been made to hold water, and the manner in which the cover fits into the neck like a stopper would keep the contents well sealed and therefore pure.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All