Lot 507. A rare and superbly decorated 'famille-rose' altar vase, Seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735), 45.2 cm, 17 3/4 in. Estimate 6,000,000 — 8,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 22,720,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

of exceptionally well potted hexagonal section, the central section sharply tapering towards the base, masterfully moulded to each side with a panel of conforming section enclosing a Buddhist altar vase in low relief wreathed by foliate scrolls, the panels recessed into a shaded black ground decorated with florets and gilt leaves, below broad flattened shoulders crisply moulded with an elaborate festoon band suspending gilt seed-filled swags, each with a bird flying above amid dense meandering foliate scrolls, the shoulders surmounted by a collar decorated with leafy scrolls bearing large lotus blooms below a raised gilt band moulded in European style with interlacing lozenges, the tall trumpet neck moulded with slender ornate fluted panels, each bordered by a raised gilt band and enclosing interlinked strapwork studded with florets, the panels forming a pattern of rounded petals on the interior of the vase, all supported on a splayed base comprising a collar with a further lotus scroll above two bands of moulded acanthus leaves, the moulded carving and brilliant 'famille-rose' enamels giving depth and emphasis to the designs, the interior and base turquoise, with a central square reserved in white for the six-character seal-mark in underglaze-blue.

Provenance: From the private collection of a Parisian dealer who ceased trading in the 1950s.

Note: This spectacular vase marks an important step in the development of Chinese ceramics. It is among the earliest porcelains decorated in this colourful style which clearly derived its inspiration from enamelwork on a metal body; an exceedingly rare porcelain piece reflecting the influence of Western court artists; and last but not least, it is a staggering technical tour-de-force of Jingdezhen’s imperial potters and porcelain painters.

The Yongzheng period introduced the greatest number of innovations to Chinese porcelain design and probably created the aesthetically and technically most sophisticated works of art. While many Yongzheng designs are remarkable for their painterly approach in the classical Chinese taste, characterized by asymmetrical compositions with fluid brush lines, the present vase which follows the opposite approach, is proof of the openness of the Yongzheng Emperor to completely new concepts. 

Although produced by the imperial porcelain manufactories of Jingdezhen in south-central China, the present vase would seem to owe its metropolitan flair and flamboyant panache to court artisans engaged in the capital. The striking angularity of the form and the symmetrical layout of the design suggest 'construction' on the drawing board rather than on a potter’s wheel. Tang Ying, the grand master of Qing China’s porcelain industry, designed porcelain for the Jingdezhen imperial workshops while he worked at the court in Beijing, and it is perhaps more than a coincidence that the profile of this vase is rather similar to that of the blue-and-white Tang Ying vase, also in this collection, lot 508. Other court artisans are likely to have done the same, and in this case, European craftsmen in the service of the Emperor must be responsible for the baroque exuberance of this piece.

The Yongzheng Emperor was highly selective about the Jesuit artists he kept at court. In comparison with his father’s reign, he dramatically limited the number of Westerners engaged in the palace workshops, keeping only those whose artistry he considered outstanding, most notably Giuseppe Castiglione. Only under the Qianlong Emperor did their presence at court increase again dramatically. And while the large-scale European-style building work at the Yuanmingyuan Imperial garden began only in the Qianlong period, the first such 'follies' were already constructed for the Yongzheng Emperor: A rare European-style gateway is depicted, for example, on a painting showing the Yongzheng Emperor in a palace setting; see the exhibition catalogue China. The Three Emperors 1662 - 1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005, p.95. 

With its dense raised patterning and intense colouration, its complete coverage of the porcelain surface with enamel, and especially its turquoise interior and base, this vase seems ahead of its time. While this style is otherwise unknown in the Yongzheng reign, it became one of the Qianlong Emperor’s favorite styles.

The vase represents a temple vase and although such altar garnitures generally consisted of an incense burner, a pair of candlesticks and a pair of vases, no such set appears to be preserved. One pair of vases of the same form, design and coloration, and marked in the same way, is in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, illustrated in S.W. Bushell, Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981 (1896), col.pl. XX; another single vase was sold in these rooms, 20 May 1987, lot 565. A pair of hexagonal vases of this form and design, but slightly different coloration was sold together with a matching octagonal incense burner at Christie’s London, 7 April 1982, lot 62, from the collection of Colonel H.S. Stern; one of the vases was later sold in these rooms, 9 November 1982, lot 291, and the censer, 19 November 1986, lot 265. A slightly smaller single vase of this form, with the same design on an overall turquoise ground and with a four-character Yongzheng seal mark, is in the Shanghai Museum, published in Chugoku toji zenshu, vol.21, Kyoto, 1981, pl.99.

Vase for a Buddhist Altar, 1723-1735, porcelain with overglaze enamels. H: 16 5/8 × W: 6 15/16 × D: 7 7/8 in. (42.3 × 17.7 × 20 cm), 49.2017 Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore © Creative Commons Licence

Vase for a Buddhist Altar, 1723-1735, porcelain with overglaze enamels. H: 16 5/8 × W: 6 15/16 × D: 7 15/16 in. (42.3 × 17.6 × 20.2 cm), 49.2016 Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore © Creative Commons Licence

Although the style clearly takes its inspiration from works enamelled on a copper body, no such prototypes appear to be recorded. Two pairs of unmarked Canton enamel vases of similar form, probably of slightly later date, and one with Western gilt-bronze mounts and with handles echoing those of the porcelain incense burner mentioned above, are illustrated in T.B. Arapova, Chinese Painted Enamels, Moscow, 1988, pls 181 and 182, nos 260-263.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2007