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Descriptif du lot
This elegant vase combines an impressive scale with exquisitely rendered decoration in vibrant underglaze cobalt blue. Magnificent and exceptionally rare, it appears to be one of only two known examples. The other, formerly in the collection of the Viscounts of Santa Margarida, Chamusca, was acquired by João Saldanha e Silva (1743–1815) - a Knight of the Order of Christ who was granted his own coat of arms by the King of Portugal - and was offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 3 April 2018, lot 3633.
The cobalt blue employed in the decoration is of exceptional quality. Its rich, jewel-like tone contrasts strikingly with the purity of the luminous white porcelain. The painter has skillfully exploited this contrast, leaving generous areas of white ground around the intricately rendered motifs, thereby enhancing their visual impact. The carefully balanced arrangement of the decorative elements complements and accentuates the elegant form of the vase.
The vessel is encircled by eight distinct decorative bands, an auspicious number in Chinese culture, while finely modeled ruyi-form handles flank either side of the neck. Together, these elements create a harmonious and richly symbolic design. A broad band of lotus scrolls decorates the globular body of the vase. The lotus, long admired in Chinese culture for its purity and moral connotations, symbolizes integrity and uprightness. The motif derives additional significance from a visual and linguistic association between qing (blue) and lian (lotus), which together evoke the phrase qinglian (incorruptible), an expression often employed by emperors to encourage honest governance among officials. For this reason, lotus decoration became a particularly appropriate motif for imperial porcelains intended for members of the scholar-official class.
Decorating the shoulder of the vase is a band of interlocking stylized bats. In Chinese art, bats (fu, 蝠) serve as a rebus for blessings or happiness (fu, 福), since the two words are homophonous. The bats on this vase are depicted upside down, a deliberate visual pun. The word for ‘upside down’ (dao, 倒) shares the same pronunciation as ‘to arrive’ (dao, 到), so an inverted bat conveys the auspicious wish for the ‘arrival of happiness’ or ‘arrival of blessings.’
The ruyi-shaped handles reinforce this message of good fortune. Among the most auspicious motifs in Chinese decorative arts, the ruyi gained particular prominence during the Qing dynasty. Often presented as prestigious gifts, ruyi scepters symbolized the fulfilment of wishes, their name literally meaning “as you wish.” Frequently fashioned from precious materials and richly embellished, they conveyed both status and auspicious intent. Their incorporation into the present vase further underscores the vessel’s symbolic program.
Together, the bats, ruyi motifs, and lotus scrolls convey auspicious wishes for blessings, happiness, longevity, integrity, success, and celebration.
Particularly noteworthy is the low torque encircling the junction of the neck and shoulder, decorated with a geometric scroll. Functionally unnecessary on a ceramic vessel, such a feature often suggests derivation from an earlier metal prototype. The retention of this ornamental detail reflects the longstanding influence of archaic bronze forms on Qing imperial porcelain design. Its significance can be appreciated even more clearly on vessels whose shapes can be directly traced to metal wares, such as a Yongzheng blue and white pouring vessel in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 36 -Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 123, no. 109.
Compare the Qianlong mark-and-period blue-and-white vase of comparable size (47.7 cm. high) and decorated with similar decorative bands and fitted with ruyi handles, formerly in the collection of W. P. Foss, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 21–22 May 1979, lot 180, and subsequently at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3383. (Fig. 1) A pair of smaller Qianlong blue-and-white ruyi-handled vases (22.4 cm high), also of similar silhouette and with low torque at the junction of the neck and shoulder, but incorporating The Eight Buddhist Emblems amidst the lotus scroll, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (obj. nos. 故瓷011697N000000000 and 故瓷011698N000000000). A similar silhouette and proportions can also be seen on a Qianlong mark-and-period celadon-glazed vase of comparable size (49.8 cm. high), but with a pendant ruyi band around the mouth rim, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1368.
The cobalt blue employed in the decoration is of exceptional quality. Its rich, jewel-like tone contrasts strikingly with the purity of the luminous white porcelain. The painter has skillfully exploited this contrast, leaving generous areas of white ground around the intricately rendered motifs, thereby enhancing their visual impact. The carefully balanced arrangement of the decorative elements complements and accentuates the elegant form of the vase.
The vessel is encircled by eight distinct decorative bands, an auspicious number in Chinese culture, while finely modeled ruyi-form handles flank either side of the neck. Together, these elements create a harmonious and richly symbolic design. A broad band of lotus scrolls decorates the globular body of the vase. The lotus, long admired in Chinese culture for its purity and moral connotations, symbolizes integrity and uprightness. The motif derives additional significance from a visual and linguistic association between qing (blue) and lian (lotus), which together evoke the phrase qinglian (incorruptible), an expression often employed by emperors to encourage honest governance among officials. For this reason, lotus decoration became a particularly appropriate motif for imperial porcelains intended for members of the scholar-official class.
Decorating the shoulder of the vase is a band of interlocking stylized bats. In Chinese art, bats (fu, 蝠) serve as a rebus for blessings or happiness (fu, 福), since the two words are homophonous. The bats on this vase are depicted upside down, a deliberate visual pun. The word for ‘upside down’ (dao, 倒) shares the same pronunciation as ‘to arrive’ (dao, 到), so an inverted bat conveys the auspicious wish for the ‘arrival of happiness’ or ‘arrival of blessings.’
The ruyi-shaped handles reinforce this message of good fortune. Among the most auspicious motifs in Chinese decorative arts, the ruyi gained particular prominence during the Qing dynasty. Often presented as prestigious gifts, ruyi scepters symbolized the fulfilment of wishes, their name literally meaning “as you wish.” Frequently fashioned from precious materials and richly embellished, they conveyed both status and auspicious intent. Their incorporation into the present vase further underscores the vessel’s symbolic program.
Together, the bats, ruyi motifs, and lotus scrolls convey auspicious wishes for blessings, happiness, longevity, integrity, success, and celebration.
Particularly noteworthy is the low torque encircling the junction of the neck and shoulder, decorated with a geometric scroll. Functionally unnecessary on a ceramic vessel, such a feature often suggests derivation from an earlier metal prototype. The retention of this ornamental detail reflects the longstanding influence of archaic bronze forms on Qing imperial porcelain design. Its significance can be appreciated even more clearly on vessels whose shapes can be directly traced to metal wares, such as a Yongzheng blue and white pouring vessel in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 36 -Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 123, no. 109.
Compare the Qianlong mark-and-period blue-and-white vase of comparable size (47.7 cm. high) and decorated with similar decorative bands and fitted with ruyi handles, formerly in the collection of W. P. Foss, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 21–22 May 1979, lot 180, and subsequently at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3383. (Fig. 1) A pair of smaller Qianlong blue-and-white ruyi-handled vases (22.4 cm high), also of similar silhouette and with low torque at the junction of the neck and shoulder, but incorporating The Eight Buddhist Emblems amidst the lotus scroll, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (obj. nos. 故瓷011697N000000000 and 故瓷011698N000000000). A similar silhouette and proportions can also be seen on a Qianlong mark-and-period celadon-glazed vase of comparable size (49.8 cm. high), but with a pendant ruyi band around the mouth rim, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1368.