A rare and massive cloisonne hu vase with an imperial poem. Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

A rare and massive cloisonne hu vase with an imperial poem. Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

the pear-shaped turquoise-ground body decorated around the swelling belly in bright enamels with a continuous landscape of pavilions and lofty peaks dotted by small cottages, nestled amid lush trees and flowers, with flocks of black birds sweeping through wispy clouds, the air and sea delineated by different patterns of cloison wires, below a tall waisted neck enameled with stylized lotus flowers and other attendant blooms, one side set with a gilded cartouche enameled with an imperial poem by the Qianlong Emperor, dated to 1784, the reverse with a panel containing two quails amid peonies, rocks and millet, all supported on a flared foot similarly enameled with lotus blooms and set between key-fret bands around the mouth and foot. 70 cm., 27 1/2 in. Estimate 5,000,000—7,000,000 HKD

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a Swedish Collection where it was used as an umbrella stand.

NOTE: The present hu-form vase is impressive for its large size and fine enamelling. It is decorated with an Imperial poem written by the famous calligrapher and painter Huang Yi (1744-1802). The poem is recorded in the Yuzhi shiji (Imperial Poetry Collection) compiled in the Siku quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), third collection (ji), 67:14a. It reads and can be translated as follows:

Qinglan liaofu Weiquan yi,
sayao qianchi guoyu shi.
Longying shushang xinmu ye,
hansi sasa yuyang zhi.
Tanluan taizuo luanqiao wu,
xiaolang yingyi fengguan chui.
Zuiai weifeng yaodong chu,
congshang youyou luzhu hua. Qianlong jiachen chunzhong
Huang Yi shu

On a clear, bright day while idling by the River Wei,
wind rustles on the rain swept bench.
Faint silhouettes appear on wet leaves,
sudden wind splashes water on swaying branches.
Sandalwood trees sway like proud dancing phoenix,
a sudden loud and clear sound as if playing the flute.
I am content the most where mild breeze blows,
colourful dewdrop flowers remain on cedar trees.

In the mid-Spring of the jiachen year of the Qianlong reign (equivalent to AD 1784).
Written by Huang Yi

Huang Yi is best known for his calligraphy in the li shu (official script) style first developed during the Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). During the Qing dynasty, among scholar-artists there was some anxiety that calligraphic style had been overshadowed by the elegant and suave forms of Dong Qichang and Zhao Mengfu. Calligraphers, such as Huang Yi, turned to li shu calligraphy made popular from the bronze inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou dynasties and from steles of the Qin and Northern dynasties. Huang and others were determined to revive the 'antique style' in calligraphic writings.

Huang was also a keen collector of archaic bronzes and is known to have travelled the country in search of bronzes, undiscovered steles and rubbins made from ancient steles. He was also an archaeologist and conducted the famous archaeological excavation of the Han dynasty ancestral shrine of the Wu family (Wuliangci ) in Jiaxiang, Shandong province, in 1786. Apart from his contribution to Chinese calligraphy, Huang was also a painter with most of his landscape paintings echoing his love for the orthodox tradition.

The present vase appears to be the only example of this form and decoration recorded, although a pair of vases of similar dimension and form, decorated with grazing deer in a continous rocky landscape, from the collection of his excellency Ilhamy Hussein Pasha, was offered at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th April 1996, lot 556. See also a vase of ovoid form with handles, decorated with two panels bearing two Qianlong poems, in li shu style calligraphy, on a similar gilt-ground, from the Alfred Morrison Collection and the Fonthill Heirlooms, sold at Christie's London, 9th November 2004, lot 52.

The landscape decoration found on this vase is comparable to that seen on a large cloisonne enamel box, from the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonne, Zurich, 1985, pl. 315. See also two pairs of Qianlong period cloisonne enamel panels with inscriptions and landscape scenes, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in Zhongguo jinyin boli falang qi quanji, vol. 6 (2), Shijiazhuang, 2002, pls. 104-107.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 08 Apr 09. Hong Kong www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's