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拍品专文
Each is of quatrefoil form, delicately decorated in famille rose on the front and back within gilt-outlined cartouches. One side depicts a pair of pheasants beneath a fruiting persimmon tree, while the other depicts a pair of deer under the pine tree. The two narrow sides are decorated in gilt with lotus blossom, all reserved against a lustrous celadon ground. The foot is encircled by bands of gilt floral scroll, ruyi-heads and upright lappets, and the neck is decorated with bands of lotus flower and ruyi-heads. The neck is further flanked with a pair of gilt phoenix handles in high relief. The base is inscribed with a Qianlong six-character reign mark.
These beautiful vases combine two aspects of imperial porcelain which had reached peaks of refinement by the early Qianlong reign- pale celadon glaze applied to porcelain, and famille rose overglaze enamel decoration. As early as the Yongle reign (1403-24), the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen experimented with a delicate celadon glaze which could be applied to a white porcelain body. Experimentation with celadon glazes continued during the reigns of the Xuande and Chenghua emperors, but it was not until the Qing dynasty Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns that success with a subtle range of delicate celadon glazes for porcelain were successively achieved. These celadon glazes were greatly admired by the court and were given various descriptive names such as douqing (bean green), dongqing (eastern green/ winter green), and fenqing (soft green). The application of reserving white panels against coloured grounds and decorating them with painterly overglaze enamel designs was an innovation of the Kangxi reign. This decorative approach found favour with Qianlong emperor, especially with famille rose palette.
On the present vases, the enamels are employed to beautiful effect, depicting plants and animals that convey layers of auspicious meaning. The panel featuring a pair of pheasants standing on rockwork beneath the branches of a fruiting persimmon tree symbolises the wish that all affairs proceed according to one's desires. The opposing panel, depicting a pair of deer under a pine tree, demonstrates a wish for longevity. The lotus blossoms adorning the sides further reinforce themes of purity and virtue. Together the iconography expresses the aspiration for a long and steadfast life lived by high moral character, and also suggesting the vases were likely created for a celebratory occasion. The link with archaic bronze decoration is shown by the gilt phoenix handles on either side of the vessel.
It is very rare to find a celadon-ground famille rose vase of this particular shape and design; the present pair of vases is possibly the only known example of this combination. A related celadon-ground vase decorated in gilt ‘shou’ characters and flanked with two archaistic dragon handles, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, collection no. guci 011267N (fig. 1). Another celadon ground jar decorated with dragon roundals in underglaze blue and flanked with two gilt dragon handles, is illustrated in Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Beijing, 1993, pl. 167 (fig. 2). Two more closely related examples of lobed oval form and decorated with four panels enclosing flowers representing the four seasons, one is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession no. C.1465-1910, and another in the Alan Chuang Collection. Further comparison of a vase of the same oval-form but decorated with panels of landscapes accompanied by imperial poems, also bearing a Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2022, lot 133.
Captain Charles Oswald Liddell (1854-1941) and his brother John Oswald Liddell (1858-1918) were known for their joint venture, Liddell Bros. & Co., in Shanghai in the late 19th century, and both were avid collectors of Chinese art. Charles O. Liddell lived in China from 1877 to 1913, during which time he acquired porcelains from distinguished sources, including Prince Qing Yikuang, the last Regent of the Qing dynasty, and a private secretary and adviser of the influential statesman Li Hongzhang. Upon returning to England, he settled in Shirenewton Hall in Wales, where he created a Japanese-style garden featuring oriental pavilions and a large Chinese temple bell. His collection was largely sold through a landmark exhibition and sale held by Bluett & Sons, London, in 1929.
These beautiful vases combine two aspects of imperial porcelain which had reached peaks of refinement by the early Qianlong reign- pale celadon glaze applied to porcelain, and famille rose overglaze enamel decoration. As early as the Yongle reign (1403-24), the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen experimented with a delicate celadon glaze which could be applied to a white porcelain body. Experimentation with celadon glazes continued during the reigns of the Xuande and Chenghua emperors, but it was not until the Qing dynasty Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns that success with a subtle range of delicate celadon glazes for porcelain were successively achieved. These celadon glazes were greatly admired by the court and were given various descriptive names such as douqing (bean green), dongqing (eastern green/ winter green), and fenqing (soft green). The application of reserving white panels against coloured grounds and decorating them with painterly overglaze enamel designs was an innovation of the Kangxi reign. This decorative approach found favour with Qianlong emperor, especially with famille rose palette.
On the present vases, the enamels are employed to beautiful effect, depicting plants and animals that convey layers of auspicious meaning. The panel featuring a pair of pheasants standing on rockwork beneath the branches of a fruiting persimmon tree symbolises the wish that all affairs proceed according to one's desires. The opposing panel, depicting a pair of deer under a pine tree, demonstrates a wish for longevity. The lotus blossoms adorning the sides further reinforce themes of purity and virtue. Together the iconography expresses the aspiration for a long and steadfast life lived by high moral character, and also suggesting the vases were likely created for a celebratory occasion. The link with archaic bronze decoration is shown by the gilt phoenix handles on either side of the vessel.
It is very rare to find a celadon-ground famille rose vase of this particular shape and design; the present pair of vases is possibly the only known example of this combination. A related celadon-ground vase decorated in gilt ‘shou’ characters and flanked with two archaistic dragon handles, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, collection no. guci 011267N (fig. 1). Another celadon ground jar decorated with dragon roundals in underglaze blue and flanked with two gilt dragon handles, is illustrated in Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Beijing, 1993, pl. 167 (fig. 2). Two more closely related examples of lobed oval form and decorated with four panels enclosing flowers representing the four seasons, one is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession no. C.1465-1910, and another in the Alan Chuang Collection. Further comparison of a vase of the same oval-form but decorated with panels of landscapes accompanied by imperial poems, also bearing a Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2022, lot 133.
Captain Charles Oswald Liddell (1854-1941) and his brother John Oswald Liddell (1858-1918) were known for their joint venture, Liddell Bros. & Co., in Shanghai in the late 19th century, and both were avid collectors of Chinese art. Charles O. Liddell lived in China from 1877 to 1913, during which time he acquired porcelains from distinguished sources, including Prince Qing Yikuang, the last Regent of the Qing dynasty, and a private secretary and adviser of the influential statesman Li Hongzhang. Upon returning to England, he settled in Shirenewton Hall in Wales, where he created a Japanese-style garden featuring oriental pavilions and a large Chinese temple bell. His collection was largely sold through a landmark exhibition and sale held by Bluett & Sons, London, in 1929.