Lot 107.  Property from the Barbara and Lester Levy Collection. A large and impressive blue and white 'peach medallion' moonflask, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Height 50.2 cm, Lot sold 368,300 USD (Estimate 200,000 - 300,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2024

the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th-5th November 1997, lot 1463.

IMPERIAL FLORALS IN COBALT: AN EXCEPTIONAL AND IMPRESSIVE QIANLONG BLUE AND WHITE MOONFLASK

This magnificent flask represents the height of ceramics production at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795). It is an exceptional piece for its challenging shape as well as its massive size and would have required the highest technical skill of the craftsmen. The vessel is further striking for its rich decoration, which is exceedingly rare.

This flattened flask form, originating in metal or glass prototypes from West Asia, was adapted in China in the Yongle (1403-1424) and Xuande (1426-1435) periods, when exquisite blue and white porcelain examples were made. By the time the Ming imperial potters at Jingdezhen adapted this shape, it retained only a basic relationship to the original form. They rejuvenated the vessel, creating a sophisticated, faintly elliptical, circular outline with swelling sides, all counterbalanced by a slender cylindrical neck and fanciful curled handles. Following a lull in production after the 15th century, Qing potters again revived the form during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns.

Meticulously painted, the bats and peaches seen in the central medallions play a visual pun, conveying wishes for good fortune (fu) and longevity (shou). Equally spaced, dense lotus scrolls with six flowerheads surround the medallion on each side, creating a visual symmetry that is pleasing to the beholder. For a Yongle prototype, see a flat blue and white flask in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 故00143596), published on the Museum's website, where dense composite lotus scrolls similarly depicted encircle the central protruding medallion.

The reference to these early wares is further highlighted on the present piece in the deliberate 'heaping and piling' of the cobalt to imitate their predecessor's mottled effect. Although Qing dynasty potters had fully mastered the purification of the pigment, they deliberately painted in darker dots to recreate the accidental imperfections found on early Ming blue and white examples. This meticulous attention to detail not only showcases the advanced technical skills of the craftsmen of the period but also reflects a deliberate intention to evoke a sense of archaism, an aesthetic inclination that permeated the Qianlong period.

For its magnificent size, the present moonflask would have surely been counted amongst the Qianlong Emperor's prized possessions. It represents one of the most challenging and advanced pieces made during his reign. The production of exquisitely decorated large and undistorted vessels required considerable expertise from the potter and was a direct result of the Qianlong Emperor's generous patronage and personal taste.

Qianlong blue and white moonflasks of this form and design are extremely rare, and very few examples appear to have been recorded. See one sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th November 2013, lot 3422; and another in the collection of the Aurora Museum, Shanghai, published on the Museum's website. See also a Qianlong blue and white moonflask of a slightly smaller size, superbly painted with undulating flower scrolls, sold in these rooms, 20th September 2023, lot 709. Compare further a similar moonflask, with a long-tailed chilong medallion at the center surrounded by floral scrolls, sold in Christie's London, 10th May 2011, lot 270; another of slightly smaller size and with a central archaic dragon medallion, sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 105; and a slightly smaller example with similar elephant handles but decorated with clouds and dragons, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Gugong bowuguan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji: qinghua youlihong, xia / Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 132.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, New York, 19 March 2024