.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
It is exceptional to find such rare archaistic imitation-bronze vases in pair together with their matching zitan stands.
With its archaistic bronze-style decoration and glaze colored to suggest the patina of ancient bronze, this imposing pair of vases represents a major artistic theme of the Qianlong reign. Like his predecessors, the Qianlong emperor was a great admirer and collector of antiques. Indeed, he personally added more items to the imperial collections than any of his forebears. His interest was such that, following in the footsteps of the Northern Song Emperor Huizong, he commissioned illustrated catalogues of specific areas of his collection. These included the Shiqu baoji (Shi qu catalogue of the imperial collections), Midian zhulin (Court collection of treasures), the Tian lu lin lang (Tianlu collection of masterpieces), and the Xi qing gu jian (Xiqing mirror of antiquities). The emperor's interest in antiques was not confined to collecting and he also specifically commissioned contemporary works of art in ancient style. In the case of the current pair, this antiquarian interest was combined with another popular fascination - that of imitating one material in another. In the Qianlong reign this fascination was at its height, and lacquer, stone, wood and bronze were among the materials reproduced in porcelain.
Especially in the imitation of ancient cast bronze, the decoration on the porcelain vessels was modified from its original form. The elements within the decoration often appear more rounded and more widely spread than they were on ancient forms. Indeed it is difficult to determine whether they were copied from ancient bronzes or from contemporary Qianlong bronzes made in ancient style.
Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes such as the brown 'café-au-lait' or the teadust colours and were combined with mottled turquoise, green or 'Robin's Egg' glazes to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork.
Compare with other vases made in imitation of archaic bronze: a hu-form vase from the collection Grandidier in the Musée Guimet, Paris (inventory no. G1567) (fig.1) ; a bronze-coloured zun vase simulating both a grey/red oxydation and a gold and silver-inlaid pattern, typical from the Warring States period bronzes, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 2008, p.168, pl.149 (fig.2) ; a beaker-shaped vase with similar greenish/pale blue splashs imitating a bronze patina is also illustrated in Op. Cit., p.169, pl.150 (fig.3).
See also another very comparable hu vase sold by Christie's New York Rooms, 28 Novembre 2006, lot 1602.
With its archaistic bronze-style decoration and glaze colored to suggest the patina of ancient bronze, this imposing pair of vases represents a major artistic theme of the Qianlong reign. Like his predecessors, the Qianlong emperor was a great admirer and collector of antiques. Indeed, he personally added more items to the imperial collections than any of his forebears. His interest was such that, following in the footsteps of the Northern Song Emperor Huizong, he commissioned illustrated catalogues of specific areas of his collection. These included the Shiqu baoji (Shi qu catalogue of the imperial collections), Midian zhulin (Court collection of treasures), the Tian lu lin lang (Tianlu collection of masterpieces), and the Xi qing gu jian (Xiqing mirror of antiquities). The emperor's interest in antiques was not confined to collecting and he also specifically commissioned contemporary works of art in ancient style. In the case of the current pair, this antiquarian interest was combined with another popular fascination - that of imitating one material in another. In the Qianlong reign this fascination was at its height, and lacquer, stone, wood and bronze were among the materials reproduced in porcelain.
Especially in the imitation of ancient cast bronze, the decoration on the porcelain vessels was modified from its original form. The elements within the decoration often appear more rounded and more widely spread than they were on ancient forms. Indeed it is difficult to determine whether they were copied from ancient bronzes or from contemporary Qianlong bronzes made in ancient style.
Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes such as the brown 'café-au-lait' or the teadust colours and were combined with mottled turquoise, green or 'Robin's Egg' glazes to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork.
Compare with other vases made in imitation of archaic bronze: a hu-form vase from the collection Grandidier in the Musée Guimet, Paris (inventory no. G1567) (fig.1) ; a bronze-coloured zun vase simulating both a grey/red oxydation and a gold and silver-inlaid pattern, typical from the Warring States period bronzes, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 2008, p.168, pl.149 (fig.2) ; a beaker-shaped vase with similar greenish/pale blue splashs imitating a bronze patina is also illustrated in Op. Cit., p.169, pl.150 (fig.3).
See also another very comparable hu vase sold by Christie's New York Rooms, 28 Novembre 2006, lot 1602.