Lot 1449. A very rare famille rose and carved red lacquer vase, Daoguang seal mark in iron red and of the period (1821-1850); 11 in. (28 cm.) high. Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. Price realised USD 98,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2010.

The globular body decorated with four lotus sprays with scrolling tendrils conjoined by pink bats positioned above smaller lotus sprays, all reserved on a lime-green ground between a petal lappet border below and a ruyi and archaistic dragon scroll border above, with a band of pink key fret encircling the foot, the neck covered in red lacquer carved with similar decoration reserved on a diaper ground and flanked by a pair of openwork, dragon scroll handles in pink enamel, the interior of the neck and the base surrounding the nianhao in turquoise enamel.

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1999.
Private American Collection. 

Note: Only one other vase of this very rare type, with a porcelain body and carved red lacquer neck, appears to have been published. It is a Jiaqing mark and period vase of related shape sold in our Paris rooms, 7 December 2007, lot 175. Unlike the lotus scroll decoration of the present vase, it was painted with a pomegranate tree, but the red lacquer neck was similarly carved with lotus scroll.

Lacquered porcelain objects are quite rare as the application of the lacquer to the surface of the porcelain would have required great skill and would have added considerably to the original cost of the item. It is also rather fragile, and it is likely that of the few examples of this type made, even fewer would have survived.

Although there are some examples of lacquered ceramics or porcelain of earlier date, it wasn't until the Kangxi period that there was a renewed interest in the lacquering of porcelain, and a few of these pieces remain. One is an exceptional large porcelain beaker vase with Kangxi mark covered in layers of black and red lacquer carved in imitation of tixi lacquer, which is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 46 - Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 3. Another is the mother-of-pearl-inlaid black lacquered brush pot, also of Kangxi date, sold in our London rooms, 8 June 2004, lot 465, and now in the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection, 25 March 2010, lot 953. A porcelain bottle vase covered allover with carved red lacquer, of Qianlong date, is illustrated by Edward F. Strange, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1926, pl. XXI.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. 26 March 2010. New York, Rockefeller Plaza