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Lot Essay
The present rouleau vase is a refined example of Kangxi-period porcelain, intricately enameled in susancai—a technique employing a vibrant palette dominated by shades of green, blue, and aubergine. The continuous narrative scene, depicting scholars amidst an idyllic mountainous landscape, is rendered with exceptional refinement. Notably, areas of the sky and water are intentionally left unglazed, revealing the biscuit porcelain body beneath and creating a striking contrast in texture and tonality.
The susancai (素三彩) technique, literally “plain three colors,” traces its origins to the Zhengde reign (1505–1521) of the Ming dynasty, though it reached technical and aesthetic maturity during the Kangxi reign at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. The term su refers to the unglazed, high-fired biscuit body, while sancai denotes the tri-color enamel palette applied after the initial firing. This two-stage process not only hardened the body and ensured structural integrity—ideal for transport and handling—but also minimized the risk of cracking during the enameling phase. As a result, susancai surfaces often exhibit a higher level of painterly precision and delicacy than porcelains decorated on glazed grounds.
Vases of this size, decorated on biscuit ground with such painterly sophistication, remain exceedingly rare. The scene—depicting scholarly figures in pavilions nestled among verdant hills, with fishermen traversing tranquil rivers—unfolds across the body in a continuous composition animated by dynamic brushwork and a harmonious color scheme. The use of colors, particularly the modulated use of black ink-like lines to define trees, rocks, and architecture, reveals the artist's fluency in both ceramic and literati painting traditions. For a smaller susancai famille-verte rouleau vase decorated with floral motifs and rockwork, see Hobson, R. L., Rackham, B., and King, W. Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, pl. 4. A susancai brush pot with a riverside landscape was sold at Sotheby’s London, 12 June 2003, lot 1178.
The distinguished provenance of the present vase further underscores its importance. It was once in the collection of Richard Bennett, a prominent 19th-century English industrialist and pioneering collector of Qing imperial porcelain. Residing at Thornby Hall in Northamptonshire, Bennett assembled one of the most celebrated private collections of Chinese ceramics in Britain. His holdings were dispersed in 1911 through a landmark sale that helped shape major Western collections. Subsequently, the vase entered the storied collections of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) and John D. Rockefeller III (1906–1978). The Rockefellers, father and son, were among the most discerning American collectors of Chinese art in the twentieth century. Their acquisitions, guided by a deep appreciation for connoisseurship and cultural preservation, formed one of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese porcelain in the Western world, with significant portions now in institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Asia Society in New York.
The susancai (素三彩) technique, literally “plain three colors,” traces its origins to the Zhengde reign (1505–1521) of the Ming dynasty, though it reached technical and aesthetic maturity during the Kangxi reign at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. The term su refers to the unglazed, high-fired biscuit body, while sancai denotes the tri-color enamel palette applied after the initial firing. This two-stage process not only hardened the body and ensured structural integrity—ideal for transport and handling—but also minimized the risk of cracking during the enameling phase. As a result, susancai surfaces often exhibit a higher level of painterly precision and delicacy than porcelains decorated on glazed grounds.
Vases of this size, decorated on biscuit ground with such painterly sophistication, remain exceedingly rare. The scene—depicting scholarly figures in pavilions nestled among verdant hills, with fishermen traversing tranquil rivers—unfolds across the body in a continuous composition animated by dynamic brushwork and a harmonious color scheme. The use of colors, particularly the modulated use of black ink-like lines to define trees, rocks, and architecture, reveals the artist's fluency in both ceramic and literati painting traditions. For a smaller susancai famille-verte rouleau vase decorated with floral motifs and rockwork, see Hobson, R. L., Rackham, B., and King, W. Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, pl. 4. A susancai brush pot with a riverside landscape was sold at Sotheby’s London, 12 June 2003, lot 1178.
The distinguished provenance of the present vase further underscores its importance. It was once in the collection of Richard Bennett, a prominent 19th-century English industrialist and pioneering collector of Qing imperial porcelain. Residing at Thornby Hall in Northamptonshire, Bennett assembled one of the most celebrated private collections of Chinese ceramics in Britain. His holdings were dispersed in 1911 through a landmark sale that helped shape major Western collections. Subsequently, the vase entered the storied collections of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) and John D. Rockefeller III (1906–1978). The Rockefellers, father and son, were among the most discerning American collectors of Chinese art in the twentieth century. Their acquisitions, guided by a deep appreciation for connoisseurship and cultural preservation, formed one of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese porcelain in the Western world, with significant portions now in institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Asia Society in New York.