18TH/19TH CENTURY

Details

A VERY RARE SMALL DEHUA PHOENIX-FORM EWER AND COVER
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Of ovoid form, the ewer is molded as if encased by the body of a phoenix standing facing forward with the beak open to form the spout and the upswept tail forming the handle. The domed cover has a round finial.
5 in. (12.7 cm.), high

Provenance

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, ca. 1970-71.

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Lot Essay

The inspiration for the modeling of this ewer and cover is unknown and appears to be a combination of European and Chinese sources; the Chinese-derived phoenix is molded on the chest with a European-style cartouche. A virtually identical ewer is illustrated by P.J. Donnelly in Blanc-de-Chine, New York, 1969, p. 151A, where it is noted that the piece bears a He Chaochun mark. The same ewer is mentioned by R. Blumenfeld in Blanc de Chine, The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 137, where the author discusses the works by the potter He Chaochun in the collection of the late P.J. Donnelly and notes a "bird-shaped pitcher" that is now in London.

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