A fine and very rare doucai and famille rose 'boys' jar. Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795)
A fine and very rare doucai and famille rose 'boys' jar. Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795). Image 2009 Christie's Ltd
Finely potted with a compressed body raised on a low foot ring, the exterior decorated in doucai and famille rose palettes, depicting a garden scene with five boys playing, each boy holding an auspicious object such as a ruyi, an endless knot, a fish, a musical chime, and a vase with flowers, dressed loosely in short robes and trousers shaded in colourful enamels, on the side with bamboo issuing from rockwork, the neck encircled by a band of S-shaped scrolls in various colours within double-line borders, 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) high, box - Est. HK$3,000,000 - HK$5,000,000 - ($388,876 - $648,126). Price realised HK$18,580,000 ($2,408,436)
清乾隆 鬥彩加粉彩吉慶有餘嬰戲圖罐 六字篆書款
罐短頸,直口,豐肩,圓腹,圈足。腹部以鬥彩及粉彩繪庭園嬰戲圖,畫面五個娃娃活潑可愛,姿態各異,一舉魚於中央,兩童子手提盤長結及罄圍繞身旁,兩旁站一童子手抱如意,另一抱著花瓶;庭園裏洞石、修竹、草地、「卍」字圍欄。一片喜氣洋洋,熱鬧的場面。頸飾回紋,底書青花「大清乾隆年製」篆書款。
《嬰戲圖》早見於唐代長沙窰瓷器上,至宋朝繪庭園嬰戲的題材頗為流行,南宋畫家蘇漢臣居功不少,他擅畫童子,臺北國立故宮博物院藏之《秋庭嬰戲圖》正出自他的手筆,在宋、金時期磁州窰的枕面上亦為多見。
此器在傳世品中未見它例,甚為珍罕。以粉彩飾童子的衣袍、手中的花瓶及瓶中的花朵,豐富了整體畫面,使畫面更有立體感,人物變得栩栩如生。
Provenance : Previously sold:
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 November 1994, lot 81
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 31 October 2004, lot 106
Notes: The theme of 'boys' has been favoured by the Chinese for centuries, bearing the auspicious wish for fertility and numerous sons. Song dynasty court painter Su Hanchen (1094-1172) was particularly famous for depicting lively children at play with characteristic hair-styles and dressed in loose robes, and this style was continued into the Ming and the Qing dynasties as can be seen on paintings, ceramics and various works of art. The iconographic objects held by the boys on the jar are equally auspicious. The chime and the fish form the rebus: jiqing youyu, 'may there be good luck and abundance of fortune'; endless knot and ruyi sceptre signify all wishes come true; and the vase with flowers to provide a wish peace and wealth.
No other identical example of the present jar appears to be recorded, although a closely related small Qianlong doucai bottle is in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 68, p. 387. The Beijing vase is also decorated in the doucai and famille rose palettes depicting similar boys at play in a garden landscape.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 1 December 2009. Hong Kong www.christies.com