A Blue And White Ewer and Cover (He), Qianlong Seal Mark And Period

A Blue And White Ewer and Cover (He), Qianlong Seal Mark And Period

of archaistic he form, the compressed globular body attached to the gently curved neck with a 'C'-shaped handle and set with an upright spout tapering to the tip, supported on four cylindrical legs, painted in underglaze blue around the sides with the bajixiang ('Eight Buddhist Emblems') amidst luxuriant lotus flowers, the domed cover surmounted by a raised loop knop and decorated with a continuous lingzhi scroll (2). height 8 3/4 in., 22.2 cm. Estimate 40,000—60,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Acquired from a German dealer before 1924.
Brought to the United States circa 1934, by Gertrude Morgenroth, Great Neck, New York.
Thence by descent to Eva Lande.
Thence by descent to the present owner.

EXHIBITED: Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio (before 1981).
Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, Ohio (1981-2008).

NOTE: The covered he form is derived from a Zhou dynasty archaic bronze prototype, produced in the Qing dynasty due to the imperial court's predilection for ancient objects.

An example of a covered he of this design with a Qianlong seal mark is illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Taipei, 1968, pl.21a-21d; another from the Tianjin Art Museum, was included in the exhibition, Imperial China. The Living Past, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992, cat.no.94; and a third from Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet, was included in the exhibition Gems of China's Cultural Relics, Palace Museum, Beijing, cat.no.46.

Sotheby's. Chinese Works of Art. 17 Mar 09.New York www.sothebys.com Photo courtesy Sotheby's