.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This rare and beautiful vase expresses a multitude of auspicious wishes. The vase is in the form of a fangsheng or double lozenge, which is one of the babao or Eight Treasures of Chinese iconography. It also provides a rebus, or visual pun, for 'victory', which is also sheng in Chinese. Because of this latter association, the double lozenge is regarded as an emblem that vanquishes demons. It is interesting to note that the double-lozenge form continued to be popular at the Chinese imperial court in later reigns, as can be seen from surviving diagrams for imperial orders of enamelled porcelains to be made for the Dowager Empress Cixi in the Guangxu reign. One such diagram for a double-lozenge jardiniere and a surviving blue-ground jardinière with her Dayazhai seal are illustrated by the Palace Museum, Beijing in Qing yang yu ci, Beijing, 2007, pp. 184-5, no. 42.
The sides of the vase are painted with stems of flowers growing out of a painted ground-plane. These four flowers - chrysanthemum, tree peony, osmanthus and yellow hibiscus - have been carefully chosen for their auspicious meanings, both singly and in combination with each other. One side of the vase is decorated with flowering chrysanthemum (Dendranthema morifolium), juhua in Chinese. The admiration of chrysanthemums has a very long history in China, and they are even mentioned in the ancient Chinese classic work the Book of Odes. In the Han dynasty chrysanthemum wine was drunk on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month to promote longevity. From the Eastern Jin period chrysanthemums have also been closely linked to the famous reclusive poet Tao Yuanming (AD 372-427), who is noted for his love of chrysanthemums and for references to them in his poetry. They have remained popular in art and literature ever since. Along with prunus, cymbidium and bamboo, chrysanthemum is one of the 'Four Gentlemen of Flowers', and symbolises autumn. Apart from its beauty, the chrysanthemum is valued for the fact that it blossoms at a time of year when most flowers fade with the onset of cold and frosty weather, and for the health-giving properties of infusions made with its petals. The chrysanthemum has thus become a symbol of longevity and good health. In art chrysanthemums are also used in rebuses, in combination with other flowers, both as a reference to long life, and also because the first character of chrysanthemum, ju is a homophone for a word meaning 'dwell'.
One side of the vase is decorated with pink blossoming tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa), mudan in Chinese. The combination of chrysanthemum and peony provides a rebus suggesting 'may you enjoy long life, wealth and honour'. The peony is regarded as the 'King of Flowers' and thus is the first ranking flower. It is one of the most popular motifs on the Chinese decorative arts, as well as occurring with considerable frequency in poetry, novels and drama. As early as the Sui dynasty peonies were associated with the imperial family. Emperor Yangdi (AD 605-618) received from Yizhou twenty boxes of peonies for his garden, and in the Tang dynasty the royal palaces at Chang'an and Lishan were famous for their peonies. However, when the peonies in the royal garden refused to bloom for Empress Wu (AD 684-704), she banished them all to Luoyang, which went on to become a centre for peony cultivation. Peonies are regarded as the 'flowers of wealth and honour', an association that derives from a famous poem by the 11th century philosopher Zhou Dunyi.
Another of the sides of the vase is decorated with yellow hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot), qiukui in Chinese. Since the Song dynasty this flower has been a favourite subject for Chinese artists. However, in terms of auspicious associations, the ceramic decorator undoubtedly chose yellow hibiscus for the pleasing contrast its coloration and leaf shape provided with the other flowers on the vase, but intended the symbolism of pink hibiscus (Hibiscus mutabilis), mufurong to be applied. The latter provided a pun for wealth (fu) and glory (rong). The combination of hibiscus and peony provides a rebus suggesting 'may you have splendour, wealth, and honour' or 'may you have high position and great wealth'.
The third side of the vase is decorated with osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), guihua in Chinese. The combination of hibiscus and osmanthus also provides a rebus suggesting 'may you have splendour, wealth, and honour' or 'may you attain great wealth and high social status'. It also provides a rebus that is particularly apt in the context of marriage. Hibiscus and osmanthus together can suggest furong qigui, which may be interpreted either as 'may the husband become prosperous and the wife illustrious', or 'may the husband and wife become famous and prosperous'. Osmanthus provides a rebus for the Chinese word gui, meaning 'noble' or 'distinguished'. This flower also suggests scholastic success, representing the passing of the civil service examinations at the highest level. Folklore suggests that Chang E on the moon presents such a successful scholar with a branch of osmanthus, hence the phrase 'to pluck the guihua from the moon Palace'. (For further discussion of flower symbolism see T. Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San Francisco, 2006.)
If the vanquishing of demons, long life, wealth and honour, and a distinguished career, suggested by the form of this vase and flower decoration, were not enough, the ruyi lappet band below the mouth of the vessel suggest 'everything as you wish'. It is likely, therefore, that this vase was designed as a particularly auspicious gift.
The sides of the vase are painted with stems of flowers growing out of a painted ground-plane. These four flowers - chrysanthemum, tree peony, osmanthus and yellow hibiscus - have been carefully chosen for their auspicious meanings, both singly and in combination with each other. One side of the vase is decorated with flowering chrysanthemum (Dendranthema morifolium), juhua in Chinese. The admiration of chrysanthemums has a very long history in China, and they are even mentioned in the ancient Chinese classic work the Book of Odes. In the Han dynasty chrysanthemum wine was drunk on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month to promote longevity. From the Eastern Jin period chrysanthemums have also been closely linked to the famous reclusive poet Tao Yuanming (AD 372-427), who is noted for his love of chrysanthemums and for references to them in his poetry. They have remained popular in art and literature ever since. Along with prunus, cymbidium and bamboo, chrysanthemum is one of the 'Four Gentlemen of Flowers', and symbolises autumn. Apart from its beauty, the chrysanthemum is valued for the fact that it blossoms at a time of year when most flowers fade with the onset of cold and frosty weather, and for the health-giving properties of infusions made with its petals. The chrysanthemum has thus become a symbol of longevity and good health. In art chrysanthemums are also used in rebuses, in combination with other flowers, both as a reference to long life, and also because the first character of chrysanthemum, ju is a homophone for a word meaning 'dwell'.
One side of the vase is decorated with pink blossoming tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa), mudan in Chinese. The combination of chrysanthemum and peony provides a rebus suggesting 'may you enjoy long life, wealth and honour'. The peony is regarded as the 'King of Flowers' and thus is the first ranking flower. It is one of the most popular motifs on the Chinese decorative arts, as well as occurring with considerable frequency in poetry, novels and drama. As early as the Sui dynasty peonies were associated with the imperial family. Emperor Yangdi (AD 605-618) received from Yizhou twenty boxes of peonies for his garden, and in the Tang dynasty the royal palaces at Chang'an and Lishan were famous for their peonies. However, when the peonies in the royal garden refused to bloom for Empress Wu (AD 684-704), she banished them all to Luoyang, which went on to become a centre for peony cultivation. Peonies are regarded as the 'flowers of wealth and honour', an association that derives from a famous poem by the 11th century philosopher Zhou Dunyi.
Another of the sides of the vase is decorated with yellow hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot), qiukui in Chinese. Since the Song dynasty this flower has been a favourite subject for Chinese artists. However, in terms of auspicious associations, the ceramic decorator undoubtedly chose yellow hibiscus for the pleasing contrast its coloration and leaf shape provided with the other flowers on the vase, but intended the symbolism of pink hibiscus (Hibiscus mutabilis), mufurong to be applied. The latter provided a pun for wealth (fu) and glory (rong). The combination of hibiscus and peony provides a rebus suggesting 'may you have splendour, wealth, and honour' or 'may you have high position and great wealth'.
The third side of the vase is decorated with osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), guihua in Chinese. The combination of hibiscus and osmanthus also provides a rebus suggesting 'may you have splendour, wealth, and honour' or 'may you attain great wealth and high social status'. It also provides a rebus that is particularly apt in the context of marriage. Hibiscus and osmanthus together can suggest furong qigui, which may be interpreted either as 'may the husband become prosperous and the wife illustrious', or 'may the husband and wife become famous and prosperous'. Osmanthus provides a rebus for the Chinese word gui, meaning 'noble' or 'distinguished'. This flower also suggests scholastic success, representing the passing of the civil service examinations at the highest level. Folklore suggests that Chang E on the moon presents such a successful scholar with a branch of osmanthus, hence the phrase 'to pluck the guihua from the moon Palace'. (For further discussion of flower symbolism see T. Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San Francisco, 2006.)
If the vanquishing of demons, long life, wealth and honour, and a distinguished career, suggested by the form of this vase and flower decoration, were not enough, the ruyi lappet band below the mouth of the vessel suggest 'everything as you wish'. It is likely, therefore, that this vase was designed as a particularly auspicious gift.