$16.7 Million Cranes Lift Christie's Chinese Art and Ceramics Sale in Hong Kong

1 décembre 2010

$16.7 Million Cranes Lift Christie's Chinese Art and Ceramics Sale in Hong Kong

One of a pair of Cloisonne enamel double crane censers of Yongzheng reign. EPA/YM YIK.

HONG KONG (REUTERS).- A Hong Kong tycoon paid $16.7 million on Wednesday for a quartet of Chinese cloisonne cranes at a Christie's sale in Hong Kong that also saw strong prices paid for high-end Chinese ceramics amid a white-hot streak in the market.

While parts of Europe have plunged into a debt crisis and the U.S. economy remains stagnant, China's antique-loving millionaires are splashing out on rare Chinese antiques and ceramics, driven by cultural patriotism and potential investment returns.

At Christie's Asian sales in Hong Kong, considered a barometer for the Chinese and Asian art markets in the world's third largest art auction hub after New York and London, demand was again strong for Chinese works from three major Western collections.

The four enamel cranes, part of a trove of Chinese treasures had been cloistered for decades in the late Alfred Morrison's Fonthill estate in the western English county of Wiltshire.

Crafted in the Qing Yongzheng period (1723-1735), the near life-sized birds were sold after brief bidding for HK$129.5 million to Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau who has paid high prices for works by Andy Warhol and Paul Gauguin in recent years.

"Many pieces sold above the high estimates because of the provenance and as fresh material to the market," said Robin Markbreiter, the director of Arts of Asia magazine, at the sale.

A highly important and exceedingly rare pair of Imperial cloisonné enamel double crane censers. Yongzheng period (1723-1735). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Each group superbly modelled as a pair of large and smaller cranes standing on an elaborate champlevé and cloisonné enamel rockwork-form base encircled by crested waves, standing on tall legs naturalistically detailed with cylindrical bands, the smaller crane with one leg slightly bent, their long necks gracefully curved as the smaller crane looks backward towards the taller crane which grasps a double-peach sprig in its long pointed beak, the bodies and feathers intricately and realistically rendered primarily in black and white enamels within gilt outline, the red crests and blue beaks, their wings forming a cover for the hollow body; 57 in. (145 cm.) high (2) - Estimate on request Price Realized HK$129,460,000 ($16,745,159)

Provenance: By repute, acquired from Henry Brougham Loch
1st Baron Loch (Lord Loch of Drylaw, 1827-1900)
Alfred Morrison Collection
Fonthill Heirlooms
John Granville Morrison (1901-1996), 1st Baron Margadale of Islay and thence by direct descent to the present owner, Lord Margadale of Islay

Notes:

HARMONY, LONGEVITY AND FILIAL RESPECT
Rosemary Scott - International Academic Director, Asian Art

These magnificent cranes are a spectacular reflection of the auspicious beliefs attached to red capped cranes by the Chinese court. The Chinese word for crane is he, which is a homophone for the word for harmony, and thus cranes represent peace. Their long legs were described as resonating with the harmonies of nature and Heaven. Cranes are also known to live for many years and thus have become associated with long life, and indeed are often depicted as the familiars of the Star God of Longevity, Shoulao. As early as the 12th century, the Chinese Emperor Huizong (r. 1101-25) painted a flock of cranes, which were seen flying above the palace in AD 1112, in order to record such an auspicious event. In the 18th century court artists were frequently required to paint cranes by their imperial patrons.

A hanging scroll by an anonymous court artist, Empress Xu Serves Food, dating to the early Qianlong reign (1736-95), used to be hung in the Palace of Concentrated Purity during the New Year Festival. It was accompanied by a poem by the Qianlong Emperor, commending the Han dynasty Empress Xu for her filial conduct in personally served food to the Emperor's mother and exhorting his empress and concubines to follow her example (1). In the foreground of the painting large red capped cranes are shown wandering about the steps of the palace, as wishes for longevity and also representing the harmony achieved by such filial behaviour. Indeed many 18th century informal court portraits include cranes somewhere in the landscape.

Many court paintings, however, focus solely on the depiction of cranes. Among those paintings preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, are Shen Quan's (1682-1760) hanging scroll, Pine, Plum and Cranes dated by inscription to AD 1759 (2). While, reminiscent of Huizong's 12th century work, Yu Xing's (1692-after 1767) hanging scroll, Cranes against Sky and Waters, c.1747, bears an inscription by the Qianlong Emperor and twelve Qianlong seals (3). Even the famous Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), known in China as Lang Shining, who served the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors, painted a number of representations of cranes. Among these are the hanging scroll, Cranes and Flowers, which included two crane chicks (4), as well as the impressive Pines and Cranes (5). Castiglione often painted the cranes with flexed necks in a way copied by other court artists, and seen in the famous trompe l'oeil painting on the north wall of the theatre hall in the western part of Emperor Qianlong's Juanqinzhai (Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service or Lodge of Retirement) in the Ningshougong (Palace of Tranquillity and Longevity) (6). Interestingly, while the majority of extant crane censers have necks rising in a simple curve, the necks on some of the cranes in the current group from Fonthill are more complex in their stance, perhaps reflecting the influence of paintings of this type.

This pair of double crane censers is not only unusually large, and particularly detailed, but also appears to be unique in having two cranes in each group, rather than being a pair of single cranes. All the extant cloisonné crane censers and candle holders published from the palace collections have only a single crane on each base. The current crane censers are comprised of a large crane with two peaches in its beak, and a smaller crane reverently looking up at it. The base is finely wrought in the form of rocks rising from the sea, and then each crane stands on a further rock - the taller crane's rock being higher than that of the smaller crane. There is something in the composition of these crane groups that calls to mind the famous painting by Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-35) with Prince Hongli (the future Qianlong Emperor, r. 1736-95) known as Spring's Peaceful Message (7). Here the young Prince is shown smaller than the Emperor, bowing slightly, and looking respectfully up at his father as the two men exchange a spray of prunus, while behind and to the side there are bamboo stems. In his later years the Qianlong Emperor's admiration for this painting led him to identified himself as the younger man in an inscription which he wrote on the painting in 1782, when he was 71 years old, and to commission a trompe l'oeil painting of the same subject for one of his favourite private rooms, the Sanxitang (Study of the Three Rarities).

Parallels can be drawn between the cranes, these paintings and a design seen on a small number of imperial Yongzheng porcelains. A blue and white Yongzheng vase in the Beijing Palace Museum (8), for example, is decorated with two dragons amongst waves. The upper dragon has five claws, while the lower dragon, which looks up at him, has only three claws. The five-clawed dragon represents the emperor, while it is believed that the three-clawed dragon represents the crown prince, who is receiving instruction from his father. Like the posture of the smaller figure in the paintings and of the smaller cranes, the attitude of the smaller dragon suggests the respect of the young prince for his father, the emperor, and possibly anticipates the transfer of the mandate of heaven and the responsibility for the good of the empire that went with it.

It seems possible that the current crane censers may have been commissioned by the Prince Hongli (later the Qianlong Emperor), probably as a birthday gift for his father. As previously noted, the cranes themselves symbolise harmony, and represent a wish for longevity. The peaches held by the larger crane also symbolise longevity, and perhaps the implication is that these peaches have been presented by the smaller crane, representing the Crown Prince, to the larger crane, representing the Yongzheng Emperor, as a wish for the latter's long life. It is also significant that, unusually, a beautifully depicted spray of bamboo has been incorporated into the bases of these cranes. Bamboo symbolises integrity, since the word for the joints of bamboo, jie, is the same as the word for integrity in Chinese. Integrity was a virtue that was particularly highly valued by the Yongzheng Emperor. This incorporation of bamboo also provides another link with the Castiglione painting.

It is additionally significant that the workmanship on these crane groups is extraordinarily fine, and exceptionally detailed. This greater detail, compared with Qianlong cloisonné cranes preserved in the palaces, may be seen in the plumage on the body, particularly on the back and wings, where the feather are not only picked out by the gilded wires of the cloisons, but are also in low relief so that each feather appears to overlap the one in the row below. The greater detail is also obvious on the neck and head, and on the legs and feet. The majority of extant large cranes have legs and feet with incised detail and simple gilding. On the current crane censers, however the texture of legs and feet is meticulously rendered in cloisonné enamel, with tiny, perfectly formed, cloisons. The only other cranes to have enamelled legs are a pair of candlesticks in the Shenyang Palace, which have green enamelled legs, but without enamel on the feet (9).

An attribution of the current crane censers to the late Yongzheng reign is based on historic, compositional and technical grounds, but cannot be proven through comparison with extant Yongzheng cranes. In 1962 Sir Harry Garner noted that: '... no pieces of cloisonne are known with reign marks of Yung-cheng (1723-35), but there can be no doubt that many pieces belonging to this reign are in existence, both in China and the West ... almost certainly attributed to the Ch'ien-lung period'(10). Since the 1960s only one Yongzheng marked cloisonné enamel appears to have been published. These are identical dou vessels with phoenix-head handles, now in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (11). As one would expect of imperial Yongzheng wares, these two cloisonné dou are exquisitely made with great refinement. Although the dou are decorated using only a single enamel colour - dark green - they are distinguished by the complexity and precision of the cloisons and the exceptional quality of the gilding on the handles and cloison edges. It is significant that the beaks of the current cranes are of the same distinctive green enamel as the pair of dou and even have cloisons of similar small scale, in an unusual, cloud-like form.

A number of crane figures can still be seen in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Perhaps the most famous are the two crane censers that stand on either side of the throne in the Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), the largest and most important building in the Forbidden City, popularly known as the Throne Hall (12). Large cloisonne cranes also stand on either side of the throne in the Qianqinggong (Palace of Heavenly Purity), which was another major throne room in the palace during the 18th century. Interestingly only one of the cranes is shown in Osvald Siren's photograph of this palace, taken in the 1920s (13), but today one bird stands on either side of the throne, as they would have done in the 18th century (14). Large 18th century cloisonné cranes are usually designed either as censers - as in the case of the current examples and those from the Taihedian - or to hold pricket candlesticks, often in the form of lingzhi fungus of immortality. The cranes in the Palace of Heavenly Purity fall into the latter category, as do the cranes which still stand on either side of the throne in the Forbidden City's Changchungong (Palace of Eternal Spring) (15).

The current pair of double crane censers is, in truth, more magnificent than any of those published as being in the current palace collections. The majority of those in Beijing and Shenyang date to the Qianlong reign, and the Chinese scholar Hu Desheng has noted that in the Qianlong reign imperial thrones were set in front of a screen, flanked by two beast-form censers, and slightly in front of these were a pair of 'immortal' crane-form censers, with a pair of cylindrical censers in front of those (16). The current censers, being significantly larger, were perhaps made before these imperial arrangements were so strictly formalised.

(1) Wan Yi, et al., eds., Daily Life in the Forbidden City, Rosemary Scott and Erica Shipley trans., Harmondsworth & New York, 1988, p. 142-3, pls. 193 & 194.
(2) E. S. Rawski and J. Rawson eds., China - The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, p. 362, no. 268.
(3) E. S. Rawski and J. Rawson , op. cit., p. 363, no. 269.
(4) The Selected Painting of Lang Shih-ning (Josephus Castiglione) Volume I, Hong Kong, 1971, no. 13.
(5) Collection of Paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione, Tianjin, 1998, p.114-115, no. 91.
(6) Nancy Berliner (ed.), Juanqinzhai: In the Qianlong Garden, The Forbidden City, Beijing, London, 2008, p. 28, lower image.
(7) The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum - 14 - Paintings by the Court Artists of the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 145, pl. 24.
(8) Qing dai yuyao ciqi, I, Beijing, 2005, pp. 24-5.
(9) Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: Shenyang Gugong bowuyuan yuancang wenwu jingcui: Falang, (The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: Enamel), Shenyang, 2007, p. 87, no. 2.
(10) Sir Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, London, 1962, p. 89.
(11) Enamel Ware in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, pp. 101-3, nos. 29 & 30.
(12) The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, no. 247.
(13) C. Ho and B. Bronson, Splendors of China's Forbidden City - The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, London & New York, 2004, p. 95, pl. 103.
(14) The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, no. 248.
(15) Wan Yi, et al., eds., Daily Life in the Forbidden City, Rosemary Scott and Erica Shipley trans., Harmondsworth & New York, 1988, p. 145, pl. 196.
(16) Hu Desheng, Gugong bowuyuan Ming Qing gongting zhu dakuan, vol. 2, Beijing, p. 679.

Another Fonthill heirloom, a rare yellow Jiaqing period Qing "famille rose" vase fetched HK$90.3 million ($11.63 million).

An important and very rare yellow-ground famille rose vase. Jiaqing iron-red six-character sealmark and of the period (1796-1820). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The vase of compressed pear-shape, elaborately decorated with four large blossoming lotus evenly spaced around the lower body below the waisted neck decorated with iron-red bats suspending a beribboned string of wan emblem, ruyi and lotus, all against a dense background of further floral decoration and interlaced leafy fronds reserved on a rich lemon-yellow ground, the neck surmounted by an out-curved mouth rim with shaped edge decorated with ruyi head, corresponding to the ruyi decoration on the body, all raised on a slender tapering foot decorated with overlapping petals; 11 1/2 in. (28 cm.) high . Estimate HK$18,000,000 - HK$25,000,000. Price Realized HK$90,260,000 ($11,674,788)

Provenance: By repute, acquired from Henry Brougham Loch
1st Baron Loch (Lord Loch of Drylaw, 1827-1900)
Alfred Morrison Collection
Fonthill Heirlooms, no. 336
John Granville Morrison (1901-1996), 1st Baron Margadale of Islay and thence by direct descent to the present owner

Notes: The elegant shape of this vase with its pear-shaped body and long, slender, neck ends in an ornamental mouth of turned-down ruyi heads. The form is complemented by a delicately painted design in famille rose enamels on a rich yellow ground. Alfred Morrison's Fonthill Collection, from which this exquisite vase comes, is known for its extremely fine enamelled porcelains, especially those with coloured grounds. Interestingly, yellow-ground vessels appear to have found particular favour both at the Chinese court of the late 18th and early 19th century, and in the Fonthill Collection. There have been three previous sales of porcelains from this famous Collection at Christie's London and it is notably that of the porcelains in the first sale, on 31st May 1965, seven of the enamelled porcelains had yellow grounds; in the sale on 18th October 1971 eleven had yellow grounds; and in the sale on 9th November 2004 were a further four yellow ground porcelains, along with six yellow ground enamels on metal. Two further yellow ground porcelain bowls from the Fonthill Collection are included in the current sale.

The form of the mouth of this vase is particularly attractive and skilfully executed - complementing the overall shape and decoration of the vase and providing additional symbolism. Turned-down ruyi mouths of this type are rare on porcelain vessels, as they would have been difficult to make and fire successfully. The rare turned-down mouths seen on Ming and Qing dynasty porcelains may ultimately derive from the vases with lobed turned-down mouths made in the 12th and 13th centuries. These latter vases were made at the Jun kilns and the Cizhou kilns, as well as being found amongst qingbai porcelains from the Jingdezhen kilns (see R. Kerr, Song Ceramics, London, 2004, p. 32, no. 22; T. Mikami, Sekai Toji Zenshu 13 Liao Jin Yuan, Tokyo, 1981, pp. 110-11, no. 92; and S. Pierson (ed.), Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, London, 2002, pp. 136-7, no. 71). The first appearance of turned-down mouths on Ming dynasty porcelains from the Jingdezhen kilns appears to be in the Xuande reign, on vases such as the blue and white vessel illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 80-1, no. 13.

However the distinctive ruyi or lappet-shape of the down-turned mouth on vessels such as the current vase appears to be a Qianlong innovation. A small number of published Qianlong vases have mouths which turn down in a series of pendant ruyi. Two blue and white vases with similar turned-down ruyi mouths decorated with lingzhi fungus have been published; one from the collection of the National Palace Museum in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty II, Hong Kong, 1968, pp. 40-1, pl. 10 (see fig. 1); the other was sold at Christie's London on 11 July, 2006, lot 142, while a further pair of blue and white Qianlong vases featuring turned-down mouths with ruyi heads were sold at Christie's London on 11 May, 2010, lot 217. However, such turned-down ruyi mouths are also occasionally seen on famille rose pieces, such as a vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing (see fig. 2). The Beijing vase is illustrated in Views of Antiquity in the Qing Imperial Palace: special exhibition to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, Museu de Arte de Macau, 2006, p. 25, no. 52. Another famille rose vase in the Palace Museum is illustrated in Porcelains with cloisonne enamel decoration and famille rose decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 39, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 137, no. 120 (see fig. 3). This type of mouth also appears on a gu-shaped, celadon-glazed, vase from the same collection, illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 461, no. 143. Judging from the quality of the body material, the elegant construction of the shape, and painting style, the current vase was most probably made during the early years of the Jiaqing reign, and by the same craftsmen who produced similar vases in the Qianlong period.

In addition to the graceful floral scrolls on this vase, the decoration includes a number of auspicious emblems. Four upside-down bats are painted on the neck of the vessel, symbolising the arrival of happiness. This happiness is multiplied by the wan characters, meaning ten thousand, which hang from the ribbons, which the bats hold in their mouths. These same ribbons are slotted through ruyi, from which in turn lotus blossoms are suspended. The ruyi symbolises 'everything as you wish', while the lotus is a Buddhist symbol of purity and beauty. The lappets which form the turned-down mouth rim are in the form of ruyi, which in turn are shaped like a lingzhi fungus.

The lingzhi fungus is one of the most auspicious motifs in the Chinese decorator's repertoire. The name literally means 'divine branch' or 'efficacious branch', and is usually identified with the fruiting body of species of fungi belonging to the Polyporacae family, which are rare in north China, but more common in the south. The lingzhi fungi grow on the roots or trunks of trees, and instead of decaying, like most other fungi, they become woody and appear to survive indefinitely. It is this latter quality, and the fact that they are believed to grow near springs in the vicinity of the abodes of the immortals, that has contributed to their reputation as conveyors of long life. Because the shape of the fungi often resembles the head of ruyi sceptres, it is associated with the ruyi and its meaning of 'everything as you wish it'. Another belief in relation to these lingzhi fungi was that they would appear when a virtuous ruler was on the throne and the empire was peaceful and prosperous. Their inclusion in the decoration of an imperial vessel was, therefore, a compliment to the reigning emperor.

However the distinctive ruyi or lappet-shape of the down-turned mouth on vessels such as the current vase appears to be a Qianlong innovation. A small number of published Qianlong vases have mouths which turn down in a series of pendant ruyi. Two blue and white vases with similar turned-down ruyi mouths decorated with lingzhi fungus have been published; one from the collection of the National Palace Museum in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty II, Hong Kong, 1968, pp. 40-1, pl. 10; the other was sold at Christie's London on 11 July, 2006, lot 142, while a further pair of blue and white Qianlong vases featuring turned-down mouths with ruyi heads were sold at Christie's London on 11 May, 2010, lot 217. However, such turned-down ruyi mouths are also occasionally seen on famille rose pieces, such as a vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing. The Beijing vase is illustrated in Views of Antiquity in the Qing Imperial Palace: special exhibition to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, Museu de Arte de Macau, 2006, p. 25, no. 52. Another famille rose vase in the Palace Museum is illustrated in Porcelains with cloisonne enamel decoration and famille rose decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 39, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 137, no. 120. This type of mouth also appears on a gu-shaped, celadon-glazed, vase from the same collection, illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 461, no. 143. Judging from the quality of the body material, the elegant construction of the shape, and painting style, the current vase was most probably made during the early years of the Jiaqing reign, and by the same craftsmen who produced similar vases in the Qianlong period.

In addition to the graceful floral scrolls on this vase, the decoration includes a number of auspicious emblems. Four upside-down bats are painted on the neck of the vessel, symbolising the arrival of happiness. This happiness is multiplied by the wan characters, meaning ten thousand, which hang from the ribbons, which the bats hold in their mouths. These same ribbons are slotted through ruyi, from which in turn lotus blossoms are suspended. The ruyi symbolises 'everything as you wish', while the lotus is a Buddhist symbol of purity and beauty. The lappets which form the turned-down mouth rim are in the form of ruyi, which in turn are shaped like a lingzhi fungus.

The lingzhi fungus is one of the most auspicious motifs in the Chinese decorator's repertoire. The name literally means 'divine branch' or 'efficacious branch', and is usually identified with the fruiting body of species of fungi belonging to the Polyporacae family, which are rare in north China, but more common in the south. The lingzhi fungi grow on the roots or trunks of trees, and instead of decaying, like most other fungi, they become woody and appear to survive indefinitely. It is this latter quality, and the fact that they are believed to grow near springs in the vicinity of the abodes of the immortals, that has contributed to their reputation as conveyors of long life. Because the shape of the fungi often resembles the head of ruyi sceptres, it is associated with the ruyi and its meaning of 'everything as you wish it'. Another belief in relation to these lingzhi fungi was that they would appear when a virtuous ruler was on the throne and the empire was peaceful and prosperous. Their inclusion in the decoration of an imperial vessel was, therefore, a compliment to the reigning emperor.

Other highlights included a ruby red, glass phoenix form ewer that was sold for HK$18.6 million, while a blue and white Qing moonflask decorated with a pair of pink phoenixes from the Qianlong reign made HK$124 million ($16 million).

Sourced from American collectors Walter and Phyllis Shorenstein, the phoenix vase carried three hairline cracks, but still went for four times its pre-sale estimate in another sign of market ardor for even slightly blemished major works.

"As we move forward there'll be fewer and fewer pieces that people source in the West ... and the prices will eventually go up. Buyer demand will far outweigh the supply," said Pola Antebi, Christie's head of Chinese ceramics and works of art.

The Christie's sale comes off the back of a scintillating spell for Chinese ceramics.

Last month, a Chinese collector paid a world record 52 million pounds ($83 million) for a newly discovered Qianlong period vase at a provincial auction room in England, smashing the previous record achieved a month before in a Sotheby's Hong Kong sale of a Chinese globular yellow-ground gourd Qing vase that sold for $32.4 million. By James Pomfret (Editing by Ron Popesk)

A very rare Imperial moulded and carved ruby-red glass bird-form ewer. Qianlong four-character sealmark within a double square and of the period (1736-1795). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The rounded body conceived as the body of the bird with the head forming the spout, decorated on both sides with foliate dragons below lobed bands of scrolls and rows of overlapping feathers on the back and neck, with a foliate-chased gilt-metal handle, the vessel raised on an oval base carved as sectioned waves radiating from the seal mark in the centre and continuing outward to form the footrim; 8 in. (20.3 cm.) long, wood stand . Estimate HK$4,000,000 - HK$6,000,000. Price Realized HK$18,580,000

Literature: C.F. Shangraw and C. Brown, A Chorus of Colors: Chinese Glass from Three American Collections, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1995, no. 81

Exhibited: C.F. Shangraw and C. Brown, A Chorus of Colors: Chinese Glass from Three American Collections, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1995, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 81

Notes: This magnificent ewer is of a very rare form created in ruby red glass of exceptional brilliance and complemented by richly decorated and gilded bronze handle. The form appears to have been moulded, and then very fine decoration has been skilfully carved in low relief on the surface.

The vessel has a phoenix head spout and relatively naturalistic bird's feathers are depicted on the neck, back and breast. However, the body of the vessel has concentric hoop-shaped flutes decorated with scrolling designs while the central panel on each side bears an archaistic dragon design. The ewer stands on a base formed of swirling waves. It is interesting to speculate on the origins of this form, since it appears to have no direct antecedents. Certainly so-called 'chicken-head' ewers were made in stoneware at the Yue kilns of Zhejiang province as early as the Eastern Jin dynasty (AD 317-420), but these merely had a spout in the form of a bird's head attached to the shoulder of an otherwise normal vessel (see Zhongguo taoci quanji 4 Yueyao, Kyoto, 1981, no. 85). In the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907), under the influence of Persian metalwork, so-called 'phoenix-head' ewers with sancai glazes were made at northern Chinese kilns (see Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, 31, Hong Kong, 1996, pp. 226-7, no. 208). Once again, however, the depiction of the bird is restricted to the head, and in the case of these vessels there is no shoulder spout and only the opening is on the top of the vessel. Thus, while these vessels show the early establishment of bird-headed ewers in China, neither the Yue nor the sancai ceramic models are convincing as the prototype for this glass ewer. Much closer in concept are two blue and white porcelain flasks dating to the Yuan dynasty (AD 1279-1368). One was excavated in Xinjiang province in 1998, while the other was excavated at the site of the Yuan capital, Dadu, in Beijing in 1970 (see Yuan qinghua, Beijing, 2009, pp. 66-69). These two porcelain flasks share with the current glass example flattened globular bodies, although the porcelain vessels are considerably more flattened, while phoenix-head spouts are to one side of the shoulder, and the depiction of the feathers of the phoenix continue onto the sides and upper part of the flasks.

However, the involvement of European Jesuit missionaries at the Imperial Glassworks in the late 17th and 18th centuries should also be born in mind. It is perhaps significant that the shape of the spout on this glass ewer bears a stronger resemblance to those seen on European silver jugs of the 18th century, than to previous Chinese vessels. It is also perhaps significant that silver drinking cups in the form of birds were popular in Germany in the 17th century (see British Museum registration numbers: AF 374, 375, 376).

The hooped ribs on the sides of the ruby glass ewer also bear examination. These do not appear to have easily related antecedents in China, but do call to mind the curved ribbing seen on rococo shell-form European silver sauce boats of the 18th century, such as those made by Nicholas Sprimont in London (see Victoria and Albert Museum number M.41-1993). Spiral and vertical fluting can of course be seen on many 18th century silver vessels made in England and Germany. For the hooped ribs, or fluting, on the current ewer, a link can perhaps also be seen with 18th century European wrythen glass. However possible inspiration from western countries such as Iran cannot be discounted, as concentric ribs can be seen on some earthenware vessels from that area. An example is the 17th or 18th century purple-glazed jug in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has concentric pear-shaped ribs on the side of its flattened globular body (see Victoria and Albert Museum number 642-1889).

Another interesting feature of the form of this ewer is the fact that the handle loops over the top of the vessel from spout to back. This is not a common feature on Qing dynasty vessels, but does have antecedents amongst Liao vessels of somewhat similar body shape to the ruby glass ewer. A handle looped over the top of a slightly flattened, round-bodied vessel can be seen, for example, on a 10th century Liao dynasty stoneware flask from the tomb of Yelu Yuzhi and Chonggun at Hansumu Township, Aluke'erjin Banner, Inner Mongolia (illustrated in Gilded Splendor - Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125), Hsueh-man Shen (ed.), New York, 2006, pp. 176-7, no. 39). The handle on the current glass ewer is extremely well made in gilded bronze with low relief plant scroll decoration against a textured ground.

The decoration on the side of the ruby glass ewer is purely Chinese in origin. It is comprised of archaistic kui dragons in a style related to designs inlaid in precious metals on bronzes of the Warring States (475-221 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties. The archaistic dragons have been particularly skilfully carved in relief. Such archaistic decoration was greatly admired by the Qianlong emperor and appears on a number of the decorative arts made for his court. The Qianlong emperor's love of ruby glass can also be gauged from the fact that the first entries in the Palace Archives relating to glass in the first year of the Qianlong reign were for a bright red glass vase, a vase with red overlay kui dragons on clear glass and a vase with red overlay on opaque white glass (see Luster of Autumn Water - Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Beijing, 2005, p. 74).

Only one other ewer of this type appears to have been published (illustrated The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 2010, p. 418, no. 272). This ewer, in the collection of C.P. Lin, is also brilliant ruby red and is almost identical to the current vessel, except for the inclusion of an archaistic phoenix, in addition to the dragon, in the decoration on the side panels. The C.P. Lin ewer also has a gilded bronze handle with plant scroll decoration. A similar handle can also be seen on a Qianlong ruby glass jug of European form offered in London in 2002 (A & J Speelman, Chinese Sculpture and Works of Art, London, 2002, p. 123, no. 58). The appearance of this handle on a jug of European form adds weight to the suggestion that the form of the current ewer may have derived inspiration from European silver.

A magnificent large pink-enamelled blue and white moonflask. Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Of characteristic compressed globular form, the body vividly executed on each side in rich pink enamel with a pair of swooping phoenix confronting a 'flaming pearl', on a ground of scrolling underglaze-blue foliage bearing pink lotus and peony blooms, the splayed foot and slightly waisted neck similarly decorated with pink-flowering blue scrolls, flanked on either side of the neck with a pair of stylised dragon scroll handles, the mouth rim encircled by a ruyi band; 19 1/4 in. (48.9cm.) high Estimate on request. Price Realized HK$123,860,000

ARCHAISM AND REFINEMENT: A MAGNIFICENT QIANLONG MOONFLASK
Rosemary Scott - International Academic Director, Asian Art

This superb example of imperial Qianlong porcelain is a testament to the outstanding artistry and technical skill of the craftsmen employed at the imperial kilns. The flask also exemplifies a number of characteristics typical of the finest pieces made for the Qianlong emperor. The first of these is overall magnificence, while the second is the archaism incorporated into its design.

The Qianlong Emperor was not only an enthusiastic patron of the arts, he was also an avid collector of antiques. While archaism has been an on-going facet of Chinese imperial art from at least the Northern Song dynasty (AD 960-1127), it may reasonably be claimed that the Qianlong reign saw its most widespread and varied use. The shape of the current flask has clear links with the past. The moonflask shape itself was adopted in the early 15th century at the imperial kilns and was made in two versions - one without a foot and one, the predecessor of the current flask, with a flared foot. Of course, flattened circular flasks with handles joining the mouth of the vessel to the shoulder on either side of the neck can be traced back to the ancient world. However, it seems probable that the early 15th century Chinese porcelain flasks were inspired by glass or metal vessels of similar form, which came into China from Egypt, Syria or Iran. There are close parallels to be drawn between the Chinese porcelain flasks and 12th-13th century glass qumqum, perfume sprinklers, from Egypt or Syria, such as those in the Al-Sabah Collection in the Kuwait National Museum. However a gold-coloured metal vessel, even closer to the Chinese early 15th century flask, can be seen in a painting of Humay and Humayun in a Garden from Herat dating to about AD 1430, which is currently in the collection of the Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.

The form was popular in Chinese porcelain in the early 15th century, particularly in the reign of the Yongle Emperor, and was re-established as an imperial favourite in the 18th century, despite the difficulty of firing such a piece successfully. These firing difficulties increased in proportion to the size of the vessel, and it is to be expected that there would have many kiln failures in order to produce the current large, successful, flask. While the handles on the early 15th century porcelain flasks were usually of relatively simple scrolling cloud form, the handles on the current Qianlong vessel display another aspect of Qing archaism. They are essentially in the form of elephant heads - a form which had been seen on Chinese handles for several centuries. These elephant heads, however are flattened, and have been extended in such a way as to call to mind archaic decoration of the late Bronze Age.

One of the most striking aspects of the current flask is it decoration. The quality of the painting is exceptional, and the combination of the rich underglaze cobalt blue with the brilliant oveglaze enamel pink extremely effective. Few porcelains are decorated in this combination of colours and techniques. An identical flask, which may indeed by the pair to the current vessel, is in the collection of the Matsuoka Art Museum, Tokyo, and is published by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Qing, Tokyo, 1983, pp. 83-4, pls. 92 and 93 (see fig. 1). A somewhat smaller, similarly shaped, flask in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, is decorated in the same palette depicting overglaze pink dragons amongst underglaze blue clouds, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 36, Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 254, no. 232 (see fig. 2). Two Qianlong vases decorated with overglaze pink blossoms on underglaze blue stems are in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, pl. 21. A pair of Qianlong elephant-head ewers from the collections of Nathan Bentz and Frederick and Antoinette van Slyke, decorated in similar style, were sold at Sotheby's New York on 31st May 1989, lot 203.

The painting of the pink enamelled confronting phoenixes is outstandingly fine on the current flask and its sister vase from the Matsuoka Art Museum. The only published vessels with similar quality pink enamel painting are the palace dragon flask, mentioned above, and a pair of Qianlong fanghu vases with elephant-head handles sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 30th April 2000, lot 600 (see fig. 3 illustrating one). These were decorated with pink dragons amongst blue clouds, and the detail and control of painting of the dragons is of similar superb quality to that seen in the phoenixes on the current flask.

Most scholars believe that pink enamel seems first to have appeared in the Chinese palette right at the end of the Kangxi reign, in about AD 1720. Microscopic examination of this pink enamel has shown red particles immersed in a clear lead-potassium-silicate glass. The rose colour was due to minute colloidal particles of gold. The Chinese rose enamel appears different from the European equivalent colour - the so-called 'Purple of Cassius', developed by Andreas Cassius of Leyden in about 1670. It does not appear to have been made by the European 'Purple of Cassius' method. The Chinese enamel has a much lower tin content and the scientists concluded that it was made not by precipitation but by making up a ruby glass and grinding this up as a pigment to be dispersed in the clear enamel. The advantages of the Chinese method, which was well known among glass makers, was that it used less gold, and it was also easier to achieve an even colouration within the enamel. This even colouration, along with the stability achieved for all the so-called famille rose enamels, allowed the porcelain decorators to achieve a marvellous level of delicacy and refinement in the painting of the phoenixes and flowers on this flask. It should nevertheless be remembered that this gold-derived pink was an expensive enamel, and it is not surprising to find that another Qianlong flask, of similar form and with a similar decorative scheme to the current flask, was decorated with the less expensive iron-red enamel, in place of the pink. The iron-red decorated flask, which was formerly in the collection of Major the Hon, Robert and Violet Carnegie, was sold at Christie's Paris on 22nd November 2006, lot 326 (see fig. 4).