Lot 30. A very rare blue and white 'Luohan' tripod incense burner, Tonglu, Chongzhen period (1627–1644). Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 (€34,000 - 56,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The straight sides superbly painted in vivid underglaze blue with a continuous scene of fifteen Luohans engaged in various pursuits amidst a wreathing dragon and a crouching tiger, all within a landscape of rocks and a river, with an inscription engraved in kaishu script. 24cm (9.5in) diam.

Provenance: Dr Arthur Spriggs (1919-2015), acquired in 1965 in Oxford, and thence by descent.

Notes: This exceptional incense burner was the subject of an exchange of letters between Dr Spriggs and P.J. Donnelley who asked in his letter of 27 April 1971 permission to include the piece as a censer in a new book he was writing at the time together with Soame Jenyns.

The engraved inscription reads as follows: 

'順正大王公，弟子陶乃希敬'

This may be translated as: 

'[To] the Grand Master of Shunzheng, respectfully [given] by his disciple Tao Naixi'.

The humorous depiction of luohans on this incense burner encapsulates the free individualistic creativity of the master potters, emblematic of the late Ming to early Qing period. As orders of porcelain from the Ming Court declined, potters sought a new market in the literati and designed ceramics reflecting their taste. The depiction of luohans became a popular theme with painters of the late 16th century such as Wu Bin and Ding Yungpeng, which is likely to have inspired the present lot; see a related blue and white incense burner painted with the Eighteen Luohans, dated 1644/45, illustrated by M.Butler, J.B.Curtis and S.Little in Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, Alexandria, 2002, pp.218-219). See another related example illustrated in Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections, Shanghai, 2005, pp.80-81.

A related blue and white 'Eighteen Luohans' incense burner was sold at Christie's New York on 16 March 2015, lot 3574.

A rare blue and white 'luohan' censer, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1662-1722). Estimate HK$240,000 - HK$350,000 ($31,114 - $45,374). Price Realized HK$400,000 ($51,844) at Christie's New York on 16 March 2015, lot 3574. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

(Cf. my post: http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2015/10/12/32733466.html)

Dr Arthur Spriggs (1919-2015) 

Educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, Arthur Spriggs was a distinguished medical scientist for much of his very long life. He held a number of senior positions at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary and Churchill Hospital where he lectured and published extensively in his specialist field of cancer research. His early published research was accompanied by illustrations of cell preparations carefully drawn (using a microscope) by his accomplished water-colourist wife Gereth. Later in his career he pioneered the use of electron microscopy in the observation of chromosome anomalies and the detection of cancers, establishing the first regional screening service.

Dr Sprigg's personal interests extended to botany (he created and maintained a large 'natural' garden at his home); molluscs and snails (an indefatigable field worker, he must have surveyed every square kilometre of Oxfordshire during his long but active retirement); and, of course, Chinese porcelain, especially 17th century blue and white. A keen supporter for many years of the London-based Oriental Ceramic Society, he presented a ground-breaking lecture in 1965 which documented certain types of Chinese and Japanese porcelain featured in Western paintings between AD 1450-1700; published in the Transactions', Vol.36, it stimulated further investigation into the handsome 'vanitas' oil paintings which greatly enhanced the houses of successful Netherlandish burghers during the 'Dutch Golden Age'.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 10 november 2016, 10:30 GMT, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET