Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr : MAGNIFIQUE ET TRÈS RARE GRAND VASE BALUSTRE EN PORCELAINE DE LA FAMILLE ROSE Marque à six caractères en cachet en rouge de cuivre et époque Qianlong (1736-1795) (2024)

Marque à six caractères en cachet en rouge de cuivre et époque Qianlong (1736-1795)

A MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE LARGE FAMILLE ROSE 'DRAGON' VASE
Qianlong six-character seal mark in iron-red and of the period
Raised on a high, splayed foot, the rounded ovoid body rising to gently rounded shoulders and a tall cylindrical neck surmounted by an compressed bulbous mouth and lipped rim, the neck set with a pair of elaborated pierced dragon handles painted in iron-red with gold detailing, finely painted around the body with two five-clawed dragons striding amidst clusters of multi-coloured clouds, the larger dragon brilliantly painted in iron-red five-clawed dragon in iron red, its long curly whiskers issuing from either side of its flared snout, crowned by a pair of prominent long horns protruding from its green-enamelled mane, its powerful coiling body covered in red scales, confronting the smaller dragon depicted in tones of vivid rose pink gazing submissively up towards the larger dragon, painted around the neck in vibrant enamels with luscious lotus flowers below bats amidst scrolling foliage and flower sprays, all against a bright turquoise ground, the foot and lower part of the body similarly decorated, the turquoise-glazed base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in iron-red.
54 cm (21 1/4 in) high

PROPERTY FROM A LONDON ESTATE
倫敦私人遺產

清乾隆 粉彩雲紋「蒼龍教子」雙螭耳瓶 礬紅「大清乾隆年製」篆書款

Provenance:
Collection of William Dederich (1872-1926), Kingswood House, Dulwich, London.
Thence by direct descent in the family.

來源
William Dederich（1872-1926）珍藏，Kingswood House，達利奇，倫敦
後經家族流傳至今

This impressive vase is a masterpiece made in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province under the Qianlong emperor. It is a successful combination of colour and composition, and must have been a challenging project for the skilled artists in the Jingdezhen workshops who designed and painted the design. The striking combination of rose pink-enamel and iron-red in the decoration of this vase is very rare and only one other companion piece to this vase is known. On a vase of identical form, size and design, also inscribed with a Qianlong iron-red six-character seal mark, the iron-red and pink dragons are arranged the opposite way, the designs on both vases perfectly mirroring each other. The present vase is therefore the pair to the vase sold in Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 457 (Fig. 1).

Both vases are decorated with a continuous design of two striding dragons of different size and colour. By the Qianlong period, the painters in the Jingdezhen workshops were highly accomplished in rendering superb five-clawed dragons. The larger dragon above with a powerful body and head subtly painted in different washes of iron red accentuated with stippled details and fine lines. His eyes, fangs and claws are picked out in white enamel and his mane in a vivid green enamel, contrasting with his vibrant-coloured body. The use of deep iron-red for the large dragon adds boldness and power to the design when comparing it to the soft pink enamel employed for the smaller, more diminutive dragon that faces him striding below. His body is depicted in delicate shades of rose-pink accentuated with a puce-coloured spine. As on the larger dragon, his eyes, eyebrows, fangs and claws are highlighted in white enamel. Their colourful bodies contrast sharply against the white body of the vase scattered with delicate wisps of swirling multi-coloured clouds.

In the decorative repertoire of art, depictions of a larger powerful dragon accompanied by a smaller, more sinuous dragon, usually facing each other, convey the message of 'the old dragon teaching his son' canglong jiaozi recorded in the Sanzi jing [Three Character Classics] attributed to Wang Yinglin (1223-1296), a traditional text for teaching children Confucian doctrines of importance on education, filial piety, proper family relations and correct moral behaviour. We can assume that the two dragons on this vase allude to the theme of succession of imperial power and handing down knowledge from father to son, most likely alluding to the figures of Qianlong and his son, Prince Yongyan, the future Jiaqing Emperor. The distinctively different treatment and positioning of the two dragons on this vase underline their hierarchical relationship, with the larger iron-red dragon representing authority and the smaller, pink-enamelled dragon demonstrating respectful submission.

As mentioned above, this magnificent vase is the pair to a vase sold in Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 457. The size of these two vases and the subject are both rare and very few porcelain vases made during the Qianlong reign match these two. On a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1990, the owner of the present lot saw another vase displayed in the galleries and noted the similarities. In fact, she saw a famille rose vase of the same size, shape and colour scheme but decorated with one hundred boys at play around the body (Henry L.Florence Bequest, accession no. C.1196-1917) (Fig. 2). A slightly larger famille rose vase also decorated with two large dragons around the body, from the Buchanan-Jardine Collection, was included in the 1935 London Chinese art exhibition and published in Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-36, cat.no. 2178 and p. 186. The same subject appears on a slightly slightly smaller tianqiuping vase on a turquoise ground, sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 3614.