Paire de vases monumentaux en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, Dynastie Qing, XVIIIe siècle

de forme balustre, couverts, le pied et le col décorés d'un bandeau de lotus et rinceaux stylisés, une frise de feuilles de bananiers au dessus de la base, l'épaulement recouvert de lambrequins à fond bleu ornés de lotus et feuillages, la panse délicatement peinte d'une scène de chasse dans un paysage montagneux arboré, le couvercle reprenant une partie de ce décor et surmonté d'une prise en forme de lion assis en biscuit blanc rehaussé de pigments rouges et ors, montures en bronze doré ; socles en marbre veiné rouge et blanc. haut. 136 cm, 53 1/2 in. (sans la base en marbre) - Estimate 60,000—80,000 EUR - Lot Sold 180,750 EUR

NOTE: The present pair of vases is outstanding for its magnificent size, fine quality of potting, brilliantly deep underglaze-blue colouration and for the treatment of the varied landscape subjects. Its painting is closely comparable with the decoration found on a garniture consisting of three covered jars and two vases, from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, illustrated in Eva Strober, La Maladie de Porcelaine, Leipzig, 2001, pl. 16. Strober notes that the garniture is part of the famous collection of "Dragoon Vases" which Augustus the Strong received in the Spring of 1717 from Frederick William I of Prussia in exchange for 600 cavalrymen from Augustus' army. The monumental vessels, originally 151 pieces, come from the copious porcelain collections of the palaces of Oranienburg and Charlottenburg (Strober, Ibid., p. 46).

See also a garniture containing two beaker vases and three ovoid-form covered jars, of much smaller dimensions but painted with the same motif of figures in landscape between similar large lappets decorated with white scrolling flowers, sold in our London rooms, 4^th November 1969, lot 153, and again, 27^th February 1973, lot 50.

Compare also a garniture of five pieces painted with the same design as that seen on this pair, from the collection of Mrs. Marella Agnelli, sold at Sotheby's New York, 23^rd October 2004, lot 10; and a pair of beaker vases sold at Christie's Paris, 7^th December 2005, lot 154.

Large vessels of this type were arranged symmetrically in keeping with the baroque taste of the time. Fashion for large blue and white garnitures originated in Europe in the 17^th century and potters at the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, were commissioned to make large quantities for the export market especially under Kangxi's reign. The manufacturing of these magnificent pieces required high technical standards from the potters, as generally each piece was fitted together from two or three parts. The superb level of craftsmanship is also evident from the smooth surface of the body, with the seams of the different parts only visible on the white-glazed surface of the inside of the vessel.

Sotheby's. Asian Art. 18 Dec 08. Paris. photo courtesy Sotheby's. www.sothebys.com