CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, MARQUE MOULÉE À QUATRE CARACTÈRES KANGXI SHANGWAN DANS UN CERCLE ET ÉPOQUE KANGXI (1662-1722)

Vessels of this type, formed from organically cultivated materials such as molded gourds, were objects of refined curiosity and visual pleasure, produced entirely for aesthetic enjoyment, as suggested by the inscription on the base. Such naturally grown and artfully shaped forms were highly prized by the Qing emperors. The Qianlong emperor’s poem Yong hu lu qi (“Ode to a Vase-Gourd”) reflects this Imperial fascination, referencing earlier gourd-growing experiments conducted by the Kangxi emperor in the Imperial West Gardens just outside the Forbidden City. For a detailed discussion of the early history and development of molded imperial gourds, see Wang Shixiang, Moulded Gourds, Gugong Bowuyuan yuankan, 1979, no. 1, pp. 86–91, translated by Craig Clunas in Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 10, London, 1981, pp. 16–30.
A closely related bowl, decorated with gilt motifs on the interior and inscribed with a Kangxi shangwan (“Appreciated by the Kangxi Emperor”) mark on the base, formerly in the collection of General Joseph W. Stilwell (1883–1946), was sold at Christie’s New York, 23 March 2018, lot 971. Another example, similarly marked and decorated with archaistic dragons and phoenixes, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 3024.