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27 mai 2015

A rare blue and white 'Three Abundances' garlic-mouth vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

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A rare blue and white 'three abundances' garlic-mouth vase Qianlong seal mark and of the period (2)

A rare blue and white 'three abundances' garlic-mouth vase Qianlong seal mark and of the period (2)

A rare blue and white 'three abundances' garlic-mouth vase Qianlong seal mark and of the period (2)

A rare blue and white 'three abundances' garlic-mouth vase Qianlong seal mark and of the period (2)

Lot 29. A rare blue and white 'Three Abundances' garlic-mouth vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period  (1736-1795); 28.2cm (11 1/8in) highEstimate HK$ 2.2 million - 2.5 million (€260,000 - 300,000)Sold for HK$ 3,760,000 (€ 449,191). Photo: Bonhams.

Elegantly potted with a pear-shaped body above a splayed foot, rising to a slender neck and a bulbous garlic-shaped mouth, painted in rich cobalt blue tones with 'heaped and piled' effects depicting fruiting and flowering sprays of the Three Abundances, sanduo, below bands of downward ruyi-heads, key-fret scrolls and stylised lotus lappets on the neck and a band of crested waves on the foot, all below a continuous frieze of meandering floral scrolls at the mouth rim, the base with a six-character zhuanshu seal mark, box (2).

ProvenanceSotheby's Hong Kong, 20 May 1987, lot 463
A European private collection.

Notehe present vase belongs to a group of 18th century wares that imitate the decorative styles of Ming dynasty ceramics. The boldly painted elegant designs of fruit and flower sprays around the body are inspired by meiping vases from the Yongle and Xuande reigns. These early Ming vases depict alternating leafy fruit and flower sprays in two higher and lower registers. The Palace Museum, Beijing, includes both a Yongle and Xuande period example, each with various fruit sprays around the body, illustrated by Geng Baochang,Gugong Bowuyuan cang: Ming chu qinghua ci, Beijing, 2002, nos.15 and 76. The 18th century demand for Ming-style wares as the present lot, reflected the reverence and importance which the Qianlong emperor held for antiquity. By sinicizing himself through aligning with the culture and art of the bygone era of early Ming Chinese rule, the Manchu emperor also legitimised his own. 

This vase not only demonstrates the importance placed on antiquity, but also provides a wealth of auspicious wishes and blessings. The Three Abundances, which include finger citron, foshou 佛手, peach, tao 桃 and pomegranate, shiliu石榴, form the auspicious pun fushou sanduo 福壽三多, which literally translates as 'May you be granted the three abundances of blessings, long life and sons'. When depicted together with ruyi symbols, such as on the current lot, the Three Abundances, sanduo 三多, and the wish granting sceptre heads ruyi 如意, form an added auspicious blessing of 'May you also be blessed with the Nine Similitudes', sanduo jiuru 三多九如. The Nine Similitudes are a felicitous wish mentioned in the Book of Odes, which is the earliest compilation of Chinese poetry dating to the Western Zhou dynasty. The wish may be literally translated as follows: 

'May you be as the mountains and the hills, as the greater and the lesser heights, as the streams which flow in all directions, having constancy of the moon, like the rising sun, with the longevity of the Southern Mountain and the green luxuriance of the pine and cypress tress'.

See a very similar vase illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty. Book II, Hong Kong, 1968, pp.30-31, pl.5; another example is illustrated in Imperial Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum, Zwolle, 2011, pp.80-81, no.52; compare also another similar example from the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty. The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pp.210-211. 

For other similar examples in important private collections, see Chinese Porcelain. The S.C.Ko Tianminlou Collection. Part II, Hong Kong, 1987, pp.88-89, no.61; and Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors. A Selection from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, pp.60-61, no.16. 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 4 Jun 2015 10:30 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

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