San Francisco — Two massive blue and white 'soldier' vases, formerly in the collection of Salvador Ugarte of Mexico City, stand out amongst a select group of Chinese Kangxi period porcelains to be offered at Bonhams San Francisco on June 24.

The term 'soldier' refers to the famous group of 151 Chinese blue and white porcelains which Augustus the Stone of Saxony received from Friedrich Wilhelm I of Russia in exchange for 600 Saxon dragoons in 1717. The vases, carrying a pre-sale estimate of $100,000-200,000, came through the famous New York gallery Ralph Chait in the 1950s to Mr. Ugarte's collection and were then acquired by their current owner in Mexico City.

Each formed with a flared neck of slightly different height but painted with the same upright leaf band on the exterior, triangular-sectioned band of pearls around the shoulder and above the base of the elongated ovoid body displaying composite lotus flowers and curly leaves surrounding six circular landscape reserves: the first of boatmen eating lunch on deck; the second of scholars on a hillside bluff near their rural retreat looking onto the hills, water and architecture around them; the third of huntsmen on horseback shooting their prey with arrows; the fourth a village complete with arching bridge to a ceremonial hall; the fifth of two skiffs with fisherman plying their nets; the sixth of two hunters on horseback with arrows, a hunting hawk and hunting dog; the lustrous glaze covering all surfaces except the wide foot and recessed base. 36 7/8in (93.5cm) high.

Provenance: the collection of Salvador Ugarte, Mexico City
Ralph Chait, New York, 1950s

Tall jars and vases of this type are often referred to assoldier or dragoon vases, after the famous group of 151 Chinese blue and white porcelains which Augustus the Strong of Saxony received in 1717 from Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, in exchange for 600 Saxon dragoons. For surviving examples, now exhibited in the Bogengalerie at the Zwinger Pavilion, see Ulrich Pietsch, Anette Loesch and Eva Stroba, The Dresden Porcelain Collection: China, Japan, Meissen, 2006, p. 6 and pp. 18-19.

A pair of massive jars with covers from the same period sold in Bonhams & Butterfields, San Francisco, Sale 15409, 18 December 2007, lot 4368. For a single jar and cover with decoration similar to lot 4368, traceable to the original Saxon collection, see Bonhams, London, Sale 18827, 12 May 2011, lot 317; and another pair with domed covers sold in Bonhams, London, Sale 20580, 7 November 2013, lot 61.

They are joined by two rare large wucai enamelled jardinières, Kangxi six-character marks and of the period, offered at an estimate of $60,000-80,000. Brilliantly painted with peaches and song birds amidst pine and bamboo branches and deer walking amid faceted rocks, these exceptional pieces were formerly in the collection of Tang Shaoyi, the first premier of China.

Two rare large wucai enameled jardinières, Kangxi six-character marks and of the period. Estimate US$ 60,000 - 80,000 (€44,000 - 59,000). Photo Bonhams.

A rare carved white jade three-ring armillary disc, hun yi, 18th century. Estimate US$ 80,000 - 120,000 (€59,000 - 88,000). Photo Bonhams.

A fine and impressive large spinach jade boulder, 18th/19th century from a Bay Area collection, features a continuous scene showing a contemplative scholar in an open hut enclosed by shattered peaks and pines. Offered at an estimate of $60,000-80,000, this massive boulder is showcased in more than 100 lots of fine jades to be sold.

An impressive large spinach jade boulder, 18th-19th century. Estimate US$ 60,000 - 90,000 (€44,000 - 66,000). Photo Bonhams.

Of vertical profile, the massive ovoid form boulder skillfully and extensively carved with a continuous scene depicting a remote mountainous setting, with a contemplating scholar seated in an open hut by a cliff surrounded by pine and wutong trees, another bearded figure crossing a bridge above a meandering river, the reverse exhibiting an auspicious scene of a deer running towards a pine, and a crane in flight; the olive toned green matrix cast with patches of russet inclusions. 15 1/2in (39.4cm) high 

Other examples include a white jade brushpot, estimated at $60,000-90,000 from the collection of Harold E. Stack, and a fine archaistic carved jade libation vessel, 17th/18th century, formerly in the collection of Dr. Hugh Shire, and exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1975, as part of the Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society.

An inscribed white jade brush pot. Estimate US$ 50,000 - 70,000 (€37,000 - 52,000). Photo Bonhams.

Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd., London, 29 October 1986

The inscription to the right of the ceremonial hall reads and translates as:

bie ye ju you chu,
xian lai sheng yin xin.
nan shan dang hu yong,
feng shui ying yuan ling.

'Retired, I now live in a secluded place,
when there is leisure time I feel like being a hermit.
Mount Zhongnan is right in front of my lattice window,
and the gardens are reflected in the River Feng.'

The inscription is an excerpt from a poem by the famous Tang dynasty hermit Zu Yong. Although he was successful in the official examinations, achieving the title of jinshi in 724, Zu was never appointed with any official titles and decided to live in seclusion with other reclusive scholars. 

The second inscription above the other assembly of scholars is an excerpt from a poem by the Tang scholar Bai Juyi (772 – 846), which also records the pursuit of a casual and free life by reclusive scholars.

The Zhongnan mountains (also known as Taiyi mountains) are a branch of the Qin Mountains located in Shaanxi Province, south of Xian, which was a crucial Daoist location. Located within these mountains is Lou Guan Tai, where the famous Daoist sage Laozi is said to have resided. The Zhongnan mountains have been a popular dwelling place for Daoist hermits since the Qin dynasty. As the mountains were in very close proximity to the ancient capital of Changan, officials who incurred the imperial court's wrath often fled to these mountains to escape punishment.

For a white jade brush pot with figures in landscape from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware II, 2008, no. 197, p. 236.

An archaistic carved jade libation vessel, 17th-18th century. Estimate US$ 20,000 - 30,000 (€15,000 - 22,000). Photo Bonhams.

Supported on an oval foot, its deep U-shaped body slightly waisted toward its rim, the elegantly channelled spout, opposing a pierced and deeply undercut handle in the form of a chilong climbing up to the rim, a smaller chilong coiled at its side, the exterior walls with incised and subtly raised bands of cloud scrolls and additional chilong between key-fret and vertical lappet patterns; the stone of a pale green tone, with patches of russet markings. 4 7/8in (12.4cm) high 

Provenance: formerly in the Collection of Dr. Hugh Shire 

A rare limestone standing figure of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty, from the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Foundation, highlights the early Chinese works of art offered in this session. The impressive figure, standing in tribhanga pose on a tiered lotus pedestal base, closely related in style to figures from Shaanxi province, has been in the family residence prior to 1970 and carries a pre-sale estimate of $100,000-150,000.

A rare limestone standing figure of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty, with later elements. Estimate US$ 100,000 - 150,000 (€74,000 - 110,000). Photo Bonhams.

The 380 lot auction also features fine snuff bottles from a private San Francisco collection, Chinese robes and textiles from American collections, and scholar's objects and choice huanghuali furniture from the O'Brien collection of Asian art. Chinese paintings, featuring classical and modern works including Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi and Qi Baishi will close the session.

The sale will be followed on June 25 by a 600-lot session of Asian Decorative Art.