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27 mai 2012

Voyages of Discovery. A Connoisseur's Choice: Imperial Masterworks from a Private Portuguese Collection

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A magnificent and extremely rare monumental gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled incense burner and cover. Beijing Palace Workshops, Qianlong. Photo Bonhams

LONDON - Bonhams is delighted to present 'Voyages of Discovery', an auction comprising twenty seven masterpieces of ancient and modern Chinese Art from the Private Collection of a Portuguese Connoisseur. Accumulated over a number of years, this collection offers a fascinating glimpse of the incredible craftsmanship and artistry of the Chinese, both at home and abroad. Highlights of the twelve antique works of art include an exceptional copper-red 'lotus' bowl (amended), an extremely rare Dingyao dish, and a magnificent and extremely rare cloisonné enamel incense burner and cover from the Beijing Palace Workshops, while the paintings represent fifteen stunning works on paper and canvas by Chinese masters Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-Ki. As such, 'Voyages of Discovery' offers a unique insight into some of the finest creations from the last thousand years of Chinese art, both in terms of traditional historic objects and also the innovative abstract art which they were to inspire in more recent times.

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A magnificent and extremely rare monumental gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled incense burner and cover. Beijing Palace Workshops, Qianlong. Photo Bonhams

The massively constructed vessel of rectangular section, rising towards a perpendicular flaring keyfret rim, all beneath a partially open-worked dome-shaped cover of reticulated auspicious 'shou' characters and dragons depicted chasing flaming pearls, surmounted by a Buddhist lion knop, the mythical beast's head turned upwards to the right with finely incised fur running down from its spine, all supported by a pair of foreigners, each depicted kneeling on one knee and adorning tall curved headdress and long robes, all decorated with elaborate lotus blossoms and brilliantly enamelled in various colours of red, blue, green, yellow, white, pink and black, all on a rich turquoise ground. 112cm wide. (2). Lot 12. Estimate: HK$ 3.0 million - 6.0 million / US$ 390,000 - 770,000 / €290,000 - 590,000

Provenance:: Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Bt. Later 1st Baron Hesketh (1881-1944)
Sotheby's (at Easton Neston), 17-19 May 2005, lot 771

Easton Neston is a Baroque style mansion near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, the brainchild of the renowned architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, commissioned by the English connoisseur Sir William Fermor (1648-1711), 1st Baron Leominster.

Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh (1881-1944) was educated at Eton College and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge. He served at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, a Captain of the Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry and also an Honorary Major in the Territorial Army. He held office between 1922 and 1923 as a Conservative Member of the Parliament. Like his predecessors, Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh inherited the appreciation of collecting fine works of art, including the current lot, which was a great addition to the repertoire of the mansion.

The only other known vessel of this rare form is the pair to the current lot, housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no.255&A-1876 (fig.1), exhibited in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art in the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-1936, and illustrated in the catalogue p.189, no.2015. It is also illustrated in Victoria and Albert Museum. Chinese Art. Volume II, London, 1906, fig.92, where Stephen W. Bushell dates it as Qianlong period and describes it as a "strange-looking object... which looks at first sight like a sarcophagus, is an ice-chest from the Chinese Summer Palace". Sir Harry Garner also wrote about the same piece, "many large and important vessels were made in this period [Qianlong], but they are rarely marked... The large rectangular vessel with a perforated cover, supported by two kneeling figures, was formerly used in the Imperial Summer Palace, near Peking, to hold blocks of ice to keep the air cool in the hot season", where it was also illustrated, in Chinese and Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, London, 1962, pl.71. It is also illustrated in Chinese Cloisonne: The Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, p.56, fig.33.

Both Bushell and Garner believed the Victoria and Albert Museum example to be an ice cooler or ice chest and not an incense burner. However, further research suggests otherwise. Some scholars believe that the pierced cover of the pieces would have been too well-ventilated to function as an ice cooler or ice chest and that the ice would melt too quickly during the intense heat of the summer. Furthermore, the lining of the metallic body is too thin to hold blocks of ice, where most ice coolers or ice chests would have been reinforced with wooden lining to support the whole structure of the vessel and keep the ice from melting rapidly. 

For an example of a Qianlong reign-marked cloisonné-enamelled ice chest in the Palace Museum, Beijing, seeCollections of the Palace Museum. Enamel Ware, Beijing, 2008, p.174, no.131; and another Qianlong reign-marked example in the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Musem. The Enamel Volume, Shenyang, 2007, pp.172-173, no.VII-1. See also a cloisonné-enamelled ice chest from the Dr. Alfred Owre collection, exhibited in the inaugural exhibition of the Minneapolis Art Museum in 1915, and illustrated in Cloisonne. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p.211, fig.10.28. It is argued that these pieces were used for storing food and keeping them cool, which further suggest that the elaborately decorated current lot is more likely to have functioned as an incense burner rather than an ice cooler.

The two figures represent foreigners offering tribute. Both figures have distinctive strong facial complexions, bulging eyes and perforated earlobes. One of them is depicted with a curling beard, which all suggest that they were intended to be portrayed as foreigners from outside of China's borders. The figures are also depicted with unique caps and footwear, comparable to the depiction of the Yongzheng emperor on one of the leaves of the Album of the Yongzheng Emperor in Costumes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts, London, between 12 November 2005 – 17 April 2006, illustrated in China. The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pp.249-250. The Yongzheng Emperor is seen wearing a waisted long robe, red boots with curled ends and a pointed cap with a swirling design, very much similar to the garments worn by the foreign figures of the current lot.

See also an early Qing gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled incense burner featuring a pair of foreign figures carrying a chest of tributes, illustrated in Collections of the Palace Museum. Enamel Ware, Beijing, 2008, p.137, no.97; and a pair of gilt-bronze and champlevé-enamelled figures of kneeling foreigners from the Juan Jose Amezaga collection, sold at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2007, lot 27. 

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A rare inscribed Dingyao dish. Northern Song dynasty, Imperially incised poem dated to 1776. Photo Bonhams

Exquisitely potted of delicate hexalobed floral form, the flat base rising towards a flared mounted copper rim, covered all over in a creamy ivory white glaze, the base inscribed with a thirty five character poem and two incised seal marks in a rare hexagonal layout. 15.3cm diam. Lot 8. Estimate: HK$ 2.0 million - 4.0 million / US$ 260,000 - 520,000 / €200,000 - 390,000

ProvenanceChristie's London, 12 October 1970, lot 27
P. Delplace, November 1972
A Belgian private collection
Sotheby's London, 10 November 2005, lot 268

The Imperial poem reads and translates as: 

祇以光芒嫌定州 Zhi yi guangmang xian Dingzhou
邢窯陶器作珍留 Xingyao taoqi zuo zhenliu
獨緣世遠稱希見 Du yuan shi yuan cheng xi jian
髺墾仍多入市求 Kuo ken reng duo ru shi qiu
乾隆丙申春御題 Qianlong bingshen chun yuti

The brilliant white glaze of the Dingzhou is eye-blinding.
The potteries of the Xing kilns are all treasured vestiges.
Now that time has passed they are an uncommon sight.
I searched for them in the markets but they were of poor quality.
Imperial inscription in the spring of 'bingshen' year (1776) of the Qianlong period. 

The two seals read 'gu xiang' (fragrance of antiquity) and 'tai po' (great gem). The poem inscribed on the current lot is a slight variant from the poem recorded in Qianlong yuzhi shiji(Collected Works of the Qianlong Emperor), section 5, scroll 23/27a, where the reference to Xingyao is replaced by 'guanyao miqi' (secret official ware).

Considered as the earliest and finest porcelain produced during its time, Ding ware was already in full production at the founding of the Song dynasty in 960 and was the first to enter the Imperial palace for official use. The Qianlong Emperor is well-known for his interest in Song wares, dedicating a vast legacy of poems (over 40,000 Imperial poems ascribed to him; 190 poems he wrote in praise of ceramics), a few of them relating to objects made during the Emperor's reign, many of which were inscribed on his favourite Song wares. 

A Dingyao dish with Qianlong dated inscription in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Ceramics Gallery of the Palace Museum. Part I, Beijing, 2010, pp.186-187, pl.124 (fig.1). The dated poem, written two years after the poem on the current lot, clearly conveys the Qianlong Emperor's passion and appreciation for Ding wares. The inscribed poem reads and translates as follows:

古香古色雅宜人,宋定名陶器足珍 'Guxiang guse ya yixin, Song Ding ming taoqi zuzhen'
質韞珠光堪作鑒,紋鏤花鳥具傳神 'Zhiwen zhuguang kan zuojian, wenlou huaniao ju chuanshen'
擎來掌上掬明月,題向詩中證舊因 'Qinlai zhangshang ju mingyue, tixiang shizhong zheng jiuyin'
盛得朱櫻千萬顆,滿盤琥珀爲生春 'Shengde zhuying qianwan ke, manpan hupo wei shengchun'
乾隆甲午孟春御題 'Qianlong jiawu mengchun yuti'

'The elegance of the antiquities is pleasurable, Ding wares of the Song dynasty are treasures;
The evidence is in its pearl-like radiance, and its legendary moulded flowers and birds decoration;
When handled and raised it is comparable to the moon, dedication of a poem is a must to justify its beauty;
When filled with cherries, it glows like amber.
Imperial inscription in the spring of jiawu year (1774) of the Qianlong reign'.

Yu Peichin, Curator at the Department of Antiquities in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, expounds in her articleConsummate Images: Emperor Qianlong's Vision of the Ideal Kiln, Orientations, Volume 42 Number 8, November-December 2011, pp.80-88, that it is recorded in Chujishi xiaoxu or 'Preface of the First Poetry Collection' inLeishantang quanji that the Qianlong Emperor proclaimed 'I have no other interests besides writing poems and articles in my leisure time... I write to praise everything'. The Qianlong Emperor was very aware that the Imperial poems were representative of his image. It is written in the records in theNeiwufu Zaobanchu gezuochengzuo huojiqingdang or 'Palace Workshop Employment Archives of the Imperial Household Department' that there had to be a direct instruction from the Qianlong Emperor before the order to carve each artefact was passed to the painting academy at 'Ruyiguan' or 'The palace of Fulfilled Wishes' and 'Maoqindian' or 'The Hall of Great Diligence'. 

Most Ding wares were fired at the mouth rims to guard against warping and distortion during firing, which left the rims unglazed and later decorated with mounted metallic rims. Cai Meifen also mentions in her published article of A Discussion of Ting Ware with Unglazed Rims and Related Twelfth-Century Official Porcelain in Arts of the Sung and Yuan, New York, 1996, pp.109-131, that "the inner court did not like the 'mang k'ou' (literally 'rough mouth' or unglazed rim) of Ting ware, it was not considered good enough to merit Imperial patronage". However, thirty-seven Ding ware pieces were unearthed in the tomb of the Taizong Emperor's empress, who died around the year 1000, indicating that early Ding wares did in fact merit Imperial patronage. The unearthed pieces all had mounted metal rims at the collar, which further suggests that porcelain with metal rims were definitely not excluded by the Imperial family. 

Rose Kerr explains that 'the binding of the rims was not just utilitarian, however, but was regarded as a beautiful feature that enhanced vessels'. A special crafts institute called 'Wensiyuan' with forty-two workshops , one of which was named 'Lengzuo' or 'Decoration of Edges Workshop', is where metal rims were added to decorate the edges of the wares under the close supervision of the court. It is also stated that some rims were made coarse on purpose to avoid the metal band from slipping off. During the Huizong Emperor's reign (1101-1125), lacquered utensils with banded rims were used in the court, which suggests that Ding ware was not forbidden from entering the court because it had a banded rim.

A Ruyao dish with a slightly different carved inscription to the current lot in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Grand View: Special Exhibition of Ju Ware from the Northern Sung Dynasty, Taipei, 2006, p.50, no.6. A similar but smaller dish without the gilded rim and inscription in the Kwan collection is illustrated in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, pp.78-79, no.21.; and another Geyao piece of similar size and shape is illustrated, ibid, pp.46-47, no.5. 

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An outstanding Junyao 'lotus' dish. Song dynasty. Photo Bonhams

The exquisitely potted dish of shallow form with gently ribbed sides rising to a barbed foliate rim, applied with a delicate lavender blue glaze thinning at the extremities. 11.5cm diam. Lot 9. Estimate: HK$ 1.5 million - 3.0 million / US$ 190,000 - 390,000 / €150,000 - 290,000

Provenance:: Collection of Lord Rolf Cunliffe
Collection of Professor and Mrs P.H. Plesch
Sotheby's London, 12 July 2006, lot 39

ExhibitedThe Oriental Ceramic Society, Exhibition of Ju and Kuan Wares, London, 1952, p.11, no.19
The Oriental Ceramic Society, Chun and Brown Glazes, London, 1952, cat. no.78

Lord Rolf Cunliffe (1899-1963) was a prominent mid-twentieth century English collectors of Chinese ceramics and works of art. His purchases were almost all sourced from existing English and European collections. He lived in the heart of London just a few steps from the famous dealers Bluett and Sons and John Sparks. His first purchases were from Bluett and Sons on 30 November 1944, and he proceeded to puchase a total of over four hundred pieces over the next twenty years. After Cunliffe's death, Bluett and Sons prepared a brief valuation of some 600 items, of which some were sold in 1971 and 1973. The remainder of the Cunliffe collection was sold in our London rooms on 11 November 2002. The highlight of the collection was a Chenghua blue and white 'palace' bowl, purchased at the sale by Eskenazi Ltd., and subsequently included in their Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition: Twelve Masterpieces of Chinese Art, or Porcelain, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Stone, from the 10th century BC to the Yongzheng reign, London, November 2010, cat. no. 9; and recently illustrated in the Xiling Collection, June 2011, p. 40, no.16. 

Lord Cunliffe was a prominent member of the Oriental Ceramic Society from 1946, and later took up the post of Honorary Keeper of the Oriental Department of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge in 1960. It was his close relationship and generosity to the Oriental Ceramic Society which led to various exhibitions of his collection, notably lending twenty-one pieces to the society's Song exhibition in 1949. During these series of shows, the current lot was featured in two Song exhibitions in 1952.

Professor Peter Hariolf Plesch (b.1918), friend and doctor of Albert Einstein, left Frankfurt with his father in 1933. Educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge University, he was fascinated by Chinese glass and had the billiard room in his house converted into a private museum. Also a collector of Song pieces and a frequent member of the Oriental Ceramic Society, he once lent a ruyao narcissus bowl he purchased from the J.T. Tai collection to the society's Song exhibition. As a collector of Chinese glass, the glass-like quality and its superior thick creamy lavender glaze of the current lot would surely have caught Plesch's gaze when he first acquired it. The superior quality of the glaze is comparable to a similar Junyao dish with foliated sides in the Sir Percival David collection, illustrated in Song Ceramics. Objects of Admiration, London, 2003, pp.46-47, no.13. See also a Guanyao piece of similar shape in the Sir Percival David collection, illustrated ibid, p.122-123, no.48, and another in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, p.40-41, no.2.

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Two rare flambé-glazed 'fanghu' vases. Tongzhi and Guangxu six-character marks and of the periods. Photo Bonhams

Each of quatrelobed pear-shaped form rising from a pronounced foot, the wide body with a raised peach-shaped panel, the neck flanked by a pair of tubular handles, both enveloped in a fiery flambé glaze of maroon, purplish and grayish tone, each incised with six-character mark on the unglazed base. Each 31cm high. (2). Lot 6. Estimate: HK$ 400,000 - 800,000 / US$ 52,000 - 100,000 / €39,000 - 78,000

Provenance:: Douglas J. K. Wright Ltd., London
Sotheby's London, 13 July 2005, lot 210

Douglas J.K. Wright was a renowned London dealer specialising in Chinese and Japanese works of art, with close associations with Sydney L. Moss Ltd. A number of exceptional ceramics and works of art was purchased in the 1970s and 80s from him, including an exceptional Yixing stoneware 'plum blossom' brushpot from the Mr and Mrs Gerard Hawthorn collection, sold in these rooms, 28 November 2011, lot 268, and illustrated on the catalogue cover.

For two similar flambé-glazed hu-shaped vases with Tongzhi and Guangxu reign marks, see Qingdai Wanqi Seyou Ciqi, Beijing, 2007, pp.212-213. For a Guangxu reign-marked vase from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Ceramics Gallery of the Palace Museum. Part II, Beijing, 2010, p.495, pl.400.

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A rare Imperial gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled box and cover, from the Anyou Gong. Qianlong incised mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams

Of gently compressed globular form rising from a slightly splayed foot, decorated with stylised lotus blossoms interspersed between C-scroll vines, all brilliantly enamelled in rich tones of red, blue, green, red, yellow and white against a rich turquoise ground, the gilded base with incised four-character mark, with additional incised 'anyou gong' characters. 7.5cm diam. (2). Lot 10. Estimate: HK$ 350,000 - 700,000  / US$ 45,000 - 90,000 / €34,000 - 68,000

ProvenanceSotheby's London, 12 July 2006, lot 101

The additional marks were incised to identify the location of where the boxes were housed within the Palace. In this instance, the three-character incised mark identifies this lot as originally housed in the Anyou Gong palace. Although there are other related cloisonné-enamelled boxes, it is very rare to find an example with a designated hallmark. For a set of box, incense burner, vase, jar and a dish, all with incised Qianlong reign marks and the additional hallmark 'Ningshou Gong Dier Fen' (Palace of Tranquil Longevity) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Enamels 3. Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pp-32-33, no.5.

The Anyou Gong is located within the Yuanmingyuan and was constructed during the seventh year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1742).

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An extremely rare blue and white 'lotus' vase. Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams

Of cylindrical form with gently curved shoulders, the waisted neck rising to a lipped rim, the base supported on a short foot, the exterior vividly painted in rich tones of underglaze-blue with evenly-spaced stylised lotus blossoms issuing leafy stems, all beneath a classic scroll at the shoulder, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with six-character mark within a double circle. 10.7cm high. Lot 4. Estimate: HK$ 350,000 - 500,000 / US$ 45,000 - 64,000 / €34,000 - 49,000

ProvenanceIver Munthe Daae collection, Norwegian official of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service 1867-1888
Sotheby's London, 13 July 2005, lot 169

Iver Munthe Daae (1845-1924) was a Norwegian who served for over twenty years in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service. In 1868, he sailed for China and was appointed as a clerk working under Sir Robert Hart, Inspector General of Customs at that time. Intelligent and ambitious, he was swiftly promoted to Commissioner for several Chinese cities and Taiwan. Daae was one of the rare foreigners who were awarded the honorary title of Mandarin of the Third Degree by the Guangxu Emperor in 1878. In 1878-9, he became the Secretary in charge of the Inspectorate General, later holding the post of Inspector General from 1885-7. During his final days in China, Daae was influential in government politics and worked closely with the famous statesman Li Hongzhang. His distinguished reputation and long term friendship with China allowed him to amass a great collection of Chinese ceramics and works of art, before retiring and returning to Norway in 1907.

The pair to the current lot, also from the collection of Iver Munthe Daae, is in the Museum of Decorative Art and Design, Oslo. The Yongzheng jarlet was part of a group of two hundred and seven pieces from his collection purchased by the museum when he returned to Norway in 1888. The identical piece was included in the exhibition Daae Samlingenin 1989, then later published and illustrated in Two Important Collections of Chinese Ceramics in Norway: The Daae and The Munthe CollectionsTransactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 2005-2006, Volume 70, p.54, fig.2 (fig.1).

Compare a similar blue and white jarlet with same size but different Ming-style decoration in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Mingchu Qinghuaci. Volume II, 2002, p.360, no.193. Another pair of similar Yongzheng reign-marked jarlets is illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci 2000 Nian Zhi Jinghua. Zhongguo Mingtao Zhan, Tokyo, 1992, p.120, no.134. See also a similar sized Yongzheng reign-marked blue and white jarlet with a thinner neck and of slight quatrelobed shape with boys at play motif in the Huaihaitang Collection, illustrated in Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing. The Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong, 2007, pp.272-273, no.91.

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An extremely rare wucai 'shou and lingzhi' dish. Jiajing six-character mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams

The shallow sides rising from a pronounced footring, the exterior enamelled with a continuous flowering scene of three 'shou' characters interspersed between peaches and 'lingzhi' within lined borders, each character formed from naturalistic gnarled branches issuing fruits and leaves, the interior vividly depicting a central double medallion enclosing an additional 'shou' character forming a tree with flowering fruits of longevity and 'lingzhi', all in rich tones of brown, red, yellow, blue and green on a white ground, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with a six-character mark. 14.3cm diam. Lot 1. Estimate: HK$ 300,000 - 500,000 / US$ 39,000 - 64,000 / €29,000 - 49,000

ProvenanceBluett and Sons Ltd., London
H.M. Knight collection
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20 May 1980, lot 72
Sotheby's London, 13 July 2005, lot 186

Henry M. Knight (1903-1971) was a major collector of Chinese ceramics and works of art ranging from the Han to Qing dynasty. He was well known for his highly discriminating taste and only purchased from trusted and reputable sources, primarily from Bluett and Sons. From when he started collecting in the 1930s up until 1970, Knight was for many years one of Bluett's most important clients. The current lot is an excellent example of a rare Ming porcelain bought from them during this time.

Roger Bluett, in his article Trends in Oriental Art with an Accent on Chinese Ceramics published in Arts of Asia Nov-Dec 1980, vol.10 no.6, pp.97-102, wrote that "Henry Knight, who built up perhaps the best collection of eighteenth century porcelains in Europe as well as magnificent early pieces, was fond of telling how it was my late father [Leonard Bluett] who told him to buy 'Chinese taste' porcelains. Their time would come, my father used to say, and how right he was."

A similar Jiajing reign marked 'wucai' dish preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.19, no.18 (fig.1).

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A fine wucai 'month' cup. Kangxi six-character mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams 

Delicately potted and surmounted on a short foot, the steep sides rising towards a gently everted rim, the exterior intricately painted with an autumn scene featuring insects amongst yellow and red chrysanthemums issued from leafy stems and rockworks, the reverse inscribed with a ten-character Tang poem in 'kaishu', and a seal mark, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with a six-character mark within double circles. 5cm diam. Lot 2. Estimate: HK$ 250,000 - 500,000 / US$ 32,000 - 64,000 / €24,000 - 49,000

ProvenanceCollection of Iver Munthe Daae (1845-1924), Norwegian member of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service 1867-1888
Sotheby's London, 13 July 2005, lot 253

The poem and reads:

籬落歲雲暮,數枝聊自芳 Li luo sui yun mu, shu zhi liao zi fang
雪裁纖蕊密,金拆小苞香 Xue cai xian xin mi, jin chai xiao bao xiang
千載白衣酒,一生青女香(霜) Qian zai bai yi jiu, yi sheng qing nu xiang
春叢莫輕薄,彼此有行藏 Chun cong mo qing bao, bi ci you xing cang

The phrase translates as 'a thousand fills of wine drunk by the commoners, the fragrance lasts a lifetime'.

The poem was written by Tang poet Luoyin titled 'Chrysanthemum' in 'Quantangshi', scroll 659/18. Luoyin metaphorically used 'baiyi' or 'white clothes' to represent commoners; 'qingnu' or 'green lady' is the legendary Goddess of Frost. In the current lot, the letter 'shuang' or 'frost' has been replaced by the letter 'xiang' or 'fragrance'. Some argue that this is possibly due to a misunderstanding whereby the scholar for the Imperial kilns misunderstood the original passage. The letters 'qianzai' or 'a thousand fills' have often been misunderstood as 'qiansui' or 'a thousand years', where in this case, the letters were unchanged.

The current lot forms part of sets of five month cups formerly in the collection of Iver Munthe Daae, now in the Museum of Decorative Art and Design, Oslo. The set of five month cups was part of a group of two hundred and seven pieces from his collection purchased by the museum when he returned to Norway in 1888. The identical piece was also included in the exhibition Daae Samlingen in 1989.

A complete set of Kangxi reign-marked 'wucai' month cups from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.152, no.140. Another complete set of Kangxi reign-marked 'wucai' month cups in the Percival David Foundation is illustrated in the Illustrated Catalogue of Qing Enamelled Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1991, p.30, pl.815a-1. See also a complete set in the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in Emperor Kangxi and the Sun King Louis XIV. Sino-Franco Encounters in Arts and Culture, Taipei, 2011, pp.106-107, no.IB-55.

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A fine and rare famille rose 'riverscape' bowl and cover. Jiaqing six-character seal marks and of the period. Photo Bonhams

The conical-shaped body with upward flaring sides rising to a gilded rim, surmounted by a domed-shaped cover ending in a circular indented knop, the exterior brilliantly enamelled with a continuous scenery of Jiangnan region, the houses on scattered islands amidst watery landscapes, both the base and interior of the knop inscribed with six-character seal marks in iron-red on a turquoise ground. 17.2cm diam. (2). Lot 5. Estimate: HK$ 250,000 - 500,000 / US$ 32,000 - 64,000 / €24,000 - 49,000

ProvenanceChristie's New York, 22 March 1999, lot 342
Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2010, lot 403

Porcelain bowls with enamelled scenes of Jiangxi landscapes are extremely rare. Other than the current example, and another from the Weishaupt collection, illustrated by Gunhild Avitabile, Vom Schatz der Drachen. Chinesisches Porzellan des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts aus der Sammlung Weishaupt/From the Dragon's Treasure. Chinese Porcelain from the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection, London, 1987, no. 20, the only other published example appears to be the rare set of ten bowls from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2010, pp. 296-305, Cat. no. 1762-71. 

The intricate enamelled riverscape scene appears to be of Yanshui Pavilion ('Water and Mist Pavilion'), which is still preserved in Gantang lake in the modern day city of Jiujiang (historic name Jiangzhou). It is allegedly the place where Zhou Yu, a famous governor of the Eastern Wu Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms Period, trained his naval forces.

Compare a set of ten famille rose bowls featuring the 'Ten Views of Jiangxi' also with Jiaqing iron-red reign marks, is in the Meiyintang Collection, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 17.

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An Imperial gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled box and cover. Qianlong incised mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams 

Of flattened circular shape rising from a short straight foot, the exterior brilliantly enamelled in various tones of red, blue, green, red, pink, yellow and white on a vivid turquoise ground with a design of stylised lotus blossoms amongst dense C-scroll vines, the gilded base with incised four-character mark with an additional incised 'tou' character. 6.4cm diam. (2). Lot 11. Estimate: HK$ 150,000 - 300,000 / US$ 19,000 - 39,000 / €15,000 - 29,000

ProvenanceSotheby's London, 16 May 2007, lot 94

The 'tou' character mark is one of a thousand different and unique characters taken from the poem 'Qianziwen' or 'Thousand Character Classic'. In this instance, craftsmen produced a group of gilt-bronze and cloisonné-enamelled box and covers for Imperial use, each incised with different characters taken from Qianziwen to label their positions inside the Palace.

A similar Qianlong reign-marked cloisonné-enamelled box and cover with incised 'men' character is in the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Musem. The Enamel Volume, Shenyang, 2007, pp.190-191, no.VII-10. 

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An exceptional copper-red 'lotus' bowl. HongwuPhoto Bonhams

Sturdily potted with rounded and slightly splayed sides rising from a short foot, the interior brilliantly painted in rich tones of underglaze-red with a chrysanthemum medallion, encircled by peony blossoms and thick leaves issuing from meandering vines, the exterior similarly decorated with evenly-spaced lotus blossoms and scrolls, all under broad keyfret rims. 21cm diam. Lot 7. Estimate: HK$ 900,000 - 1.8 million / US$ 120,000 - 230,000 / €88,000 - 180,000. This lot is amended.

ProvenanceGeorge Eumorfopoulos collection (affixed label C.157)
Sotheby's London, 30 May 1940, lot 274.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 November 1988, lot 114
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 677
Sotheby's London, 8 November 2006, lot 25

Alongside Sir Percival David, George Aristides Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939) was amongst the most important collectors of Chinese Art in the early 20th century. He was the founder of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 1921, and served as president until his death in 1939.

He was particularly interested in Ming dynasty ceramics which he considered underappreciated. He wrote in 1925, "In those days – the last decade of the nineteenth century – 'Oriental' meant Ch'ing porcelain, with just a few pieces of Ming thrown in. The Ming we knew then was a little blue and white and some of the coarser enamelled wares. Our knowledge of the more delicate enamelled Ming wares... is quite recent. It is only within the last few years that specimens have reached the West. So far as my own collection goes it will, I think, be found that the Ming period is adequately represented." The current lot represents one of his most prized Ming examples from the Hongwu period.

Eumorfopoulos only purchased from trusted and reliable sources: a third of his collection, which is over one thousand five hundred pieces, was bought from F.M. Frank and Co., eighty-seven pieces from John Sparks Ltd., a hundred and thirty-eight pieces from Bluett and Sons and others from Yamanaka & Co. A significant part of his collection is now housed in the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Eight hundred pieces were also donated to the Benaki Museum in Athens, creating the first major Greek collection of Chinese art. 

A similar Hongwu period bowl from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated inCeramics Gallery of the Palace Museum. Part II, Beijing, 2010, p.280, pl.208 (fig.1). Another related bowl painted in underglaze-blue in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Mingchu Qinghuaci. Volume I, 2002, pp.16-17, no.3. It is interesting to note that the 1961 Tokyo National Museum exhibition Chinese Arts of the Sung and Yuan Periods (fig.2), dated the bowl to the Yuan dynasty rather than Hongwu period.
Tokyo National Museum, Chinese Arts of the Sung and Yuan Periods, 1961, no.301

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An exceptional pair of doucai 'wufu' bowls. Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period

Each delicately-potted, rising from a recessed foot with steep rounded sides, the exterior enamelled with five stylised 'shou' characters interspersed between 'wufu' and suspended pendants, all within interlocking C-scroll vine borders around the rim, brilliantly enamelled in bright colours of red, blue, yellow, green and aubergine, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with a six-character mark within a double circle. 13.9cm diam. (2). Lot 3. Estimate: HK$ 500,000 - 1.0 million / US$ 64,000 - 130,000 / €49,000 - 98,000. This lot is amended. 

ProvenanceJ. F. Woodthorpe collection
Sotheby's London, 13 July 2005, lot 259

John Frederick Woodthorpe (1897-1966) was a Master of the Supreme Court, Chancery Division, who also served as an Assistant Adjutant in the Royal Norfolk Regiment, from 1919-1922. Well-educated and from a privileged background, Woodthorpe had a passion for collecting Chinese porcelain from the Qing dynasty and was an active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society, lending 20 pieces to the Oriental Ceramic Society's exhibition Enamelled Polychrome Porcelain of the Manchu Dynasty in 1951. He frequently contributed articles and art journals relating to Chinese Art and was a well-known client of Bluett and Sons and John Sparks from 1948-1960. 

This particular design on Yongzheng reign-marked bowls is quite rare in comparison to other similar bowls with variations on the design. However, a comparable pair of bowls was sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, Lot 1768.

Bonhams. 27 May 2012 7 p.m. Hong KongVoyages of Discovery. A Connoisseur's Choice: Imperial Masterworks from a Private Portuguese Collection

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