CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIÈME SIÈCLE

Despite of the polished base which probably bore an imperial mark, this elegant vase is characteristic of the exceptionally fine porcelains made for the Qianlong emperor in the style of early 15th century Ming dynasty wares. Emperor Qianlong greatly admired the imperial porcelains of the early Ming reigns, and the design of this vase was inspired by blue and white meiping of the Ming dynasty Yongle reign (1403-1424) decorated with sprays of fruit and flowers, such as the examples in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 32, no. 30, and the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book II, part 1, Hong Kong, pl. 1, as well as the Ardebil Shrine in Iran. See J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, pl. 51, no. 29.413. A Qianlong blue and white meiping of the same size as the current vase, and bearing the same decoration, formerly in the collection of Edward T. Chow, is illustrated by M. Beurdeley and G. Raindre in Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, p. 108, no. 153. A slightly smaller Qianlong meiping with the same underglaze blue decoration in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 131, no. 117. Compare, also, the Qianlong marked example sold at Christie's Paris, 9 June 2015, lot 105 (EUR 721,500).