Lot 2910. An exceptionally large blue and white ‘sanduo’ hexagonal vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 26 ¼ in. (66.7 cm.) high. Estimate: HK$6,000,000.00 - HK$8,000,000.00 (USD 769,050 - USD 1,025,400). Unsold.© Christie's Images Ltd 2018
The vase is painted on the facetted sides of the body in delicate shades of blue with sprays of pomegranate, peach and persimmon alternating with branches of peony, chrysanthemum and lotus, all emerging from lingzhi fungi. The trumpet neck of conforming shape further is painted with six detached composite floral sprays, all bordered by bands of keyfret and trefoil.
Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 April 1998, lot 724
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1461A.
Note: The current vase is particularly well painted and superbly potted amongst vases of this type. A comparable pair is displayed in the Chuxiu Gong, ‘Palace of Assembled Elegance’, in the Forbidden City, indicating that impressive and elegantly decorated vases of this type were made as display objects for the Imperial palace.
Vases of this shape and decoration were first made in the Yongzheng reign. Refer to a Yongzheng-marked example in the collection of Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu - Qing Dynasty, vol.15, Japan, 1983, p. 149, pl. 150.
Grand vase octogonal, règne de Yongzheng (1723-1735), fours de Jingdezhen, porcelaine à décor bleu et blanc. H: 67,5 cm. Diam: 22,8 cm. Ancienne collection Ernest Grandidier. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques, G4127. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (MNAAG, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier.
A Qianlong vase of this pattern is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Qingdai bufen, fig. 146. Another is included in Selected Masterpieces of the Matsuoka Museum of Art, 1975, no. 102.
Compare also to a very similar Qianlong vase, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 30 April 1991, lot 73, and again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2011, lot 1920.
A fine blue and white hexagonal vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 66 cm., 26 in. Sold for 17,460,000 HKD (1,683,245 EUR) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2011, lot 1920. Photo: Sotheby's
Cf. my post: A fine blue and white hexagonal vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 28 november 2018
