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Lot Essay
The current pair of jars and covers are exceptionally well decorated and rare. No other identical examples are known to date.
The decoration is perfectly balanced with the exact amount of white-ground on each vase, in order to highlight the softness of the enamels. Peonies, hibiscus, begonia, chrysanthemums and asters are depicted growing naturally in a garden, with the details carefully rendered in vibrant colours.
Begonias have inspired Chinese craftsmen since the Tang dynasty, providing both shapes and decoration and are specially well-painted in the current jars. The hibiscus and peony provide a rebus for : 'May you have splendour, wealth and honour'.
The depiction of motifs in a continuous scene between coloured-grounds contoured by ruyi-heads appear to be much favoured on Daoguang famille rose porcelains. Refer for example to several Daoguang period vases painted around with reticulated scenes comprising various floral motifs, from the Beijing Palace Museum and illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 192.
Furthermore, see also a pair of very finely enamelled jars and covers, bearing Daoguang seal marks and of the period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Yiqingge Collection of Chinese Ceramics, 29 May 2013, lot 2025.
The decoration is perfectly balanced with the exact amount of white-ground on each vase, in order to highlight the softness of the enamels. Peonies, hibiscus, begonia, chrysanthemums and asters are depicted growing naturally in a garden, with the details carefully rendered in vibrant colours.
Begonias have inspired Chinese craftsmen since the Tang dynasty, providing both shapes and decoration and are specially well-painted in the current jars. The hibiscus and peony provide a rebus for : 'May you have splendour, wealth and honour'.
The depiction of motifs in a continuous scene between coloured-grounds contoured by ruyi-heads appear to be much favoured on Daoguang famille rose porcelains. Refer for example to several Daoguang period vases painted around with reticulated scenes comprising various floral motifs, from the Beijing Palace Museum and illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 192.
Furthermore, see also a pair of very finely enamelled jars and covers, bearing Daoguang seal marks and of the period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Yiqingge Collection of Chinese Ceramics, 29 May 2013, lot 2025.