Lot Essay
Lewis H. Blair (1834-1916) achieved success in the latter half of the of the 19th century, and distinguished himself with his progressive socio-political views and writings. Lewis Blair's mentor for many of his art acquisitions was Thomas B. Clarke (1848-1931), an art collector who also served as the art advisor and agent for J. P. Morgan.
It is very rare to find a porcelain ware from the Qianlong period incorporating a cyclical date in the seal mark. A blue and white jar and cover decorated with large characters reading, Tianzhu Enbo (The Prevailing Mercy of Buddha), interspersed with ruyi-cloud formations, inscribed on the base with a Qianlong mark in standard script incorporating cyclical date, Jiachen, corresponding to 1784, from the Shorenstein Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 2967. Similar multi-colored clouds can be seen on a large Qianlong bottle vase decorated with an iron-red dragon and a smaller pink-enameled dragon, set against a turquoise ground, sold at Christie's New York, 19-20 September 2013, lot 1391.
It is very rare to find a porcelain ware from the Qianlong period incorporating a cyclical date in the seal mark. A blue and white jar and cover decorated with large characters reading, Tianzhu Enbo (The Prevailing Mercy of Buddha), interspersed with ruyi-cloud formations, inscribed on the base with a Qianlong mark in standard script incorporating cyclical date, Jiachen, corresponding to 1784, from the Shorenstein Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 2967. Similar multi-colored clouds can be seen on a large Qianlong bottle vase decorated with an iron-red dragon and a smaller pink-enameled dragon, set against a turquoise ground, sold at Christie's New York, 19-20 September 2013, lot 1391.