A massive pair of  Chinese Export  famille rose jardinieres. Yongzheng-Early Qianlong period. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2012

Each of cylindrical form flanked by colorful Buddhist lion-mask handles suspending metal rings, the flaring rim with cartouches of figures reclining in landscapes, possibly drunken immortals, alternate with panels of flower-heads on cell-patterns, the exterior with exotic long-tailed birds perched among chrysanthemum, peony and prunus, the interior with further finely enameled blooms, including lotus, a large fantasy flower-head to the center; 24¼ in. (61.6 cm.) wide (2). Estimate $30,000 - $50,000

Property from the estate of George McFadden and McFadden brothers partnership 

Notes: Massive, lavishly enameled pieces of this high quality were appreciated both by the Chinese court and Western traders, and could be found in a grand 18th century European house or a Chinese palace alike.

Compare with an octagonal jardinière painted with the same long-tailed bird among flowering branches in the exhibition Y'ang-ts'ai: The Foreign Colors, Rose Porcelains of the Ch'ing Dynasty at the China Trade Museum in Milton, Massachusetts (12 February - 27 June 1982, cat. no. 21). 

Christie's. Chinese Export Art. 23 January 2012. New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com