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27 novembre 2019

A fine and very rare underglaze-blue and copper-red ‘lion’ vase, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3021. A fine and very rare underglaze-blue and copper-red ‘lion’ vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 12 7/8 in. (32.9 cm.) highEstimate HKD 8,000,000 - HKD 12,000,000. Price realised HKD 9,725,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019

The vase is finely potted with a globular body tapering to a recessed base. It is painted in inky tones of underglaze blue and a soft mottled underglaze red all around the exterior with three Buddhist lions holding ribboned brocade balls. The shoulder is decorated with a band of bats below a band of archaistic dragons on the neck. The base is encircled by lotus petal lappets moulded in relief.

Provenance: Collection of Gustav Detring (1842-1913) and/or Constantin von Hanneken (1854-1925) and thence by descent.

NoteGustav Detring (1842-1913) and Constantin von Hanneken (1855-1925) were important figures during the late Qing period, particularly from 1895 to 1911. Given their great contributions to diplomacy and the military during the tumultuous late Qing period, the present lot is very likely to have been a gift from the Qing court.

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Gustav Detring (1842-1913)

Gustav Detring was born in Jülich, Germany. He first joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in the 1860s and later served in different posts across multiple cities in China. In 1878, his career took a significant step forward. He was appointed Director of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service and became the private advisor to Viceroy Li Hongzhang (1823-1901). Detring had gained the trust of Li Hongzhang and was his confidant in financial and foreign policy matters, including the negotiations between the Chinese court and the German military and arms manufacturers hiring military experts. As a result of his close alliance with Li, Detring rose to be the highest-ranking westerner in China at that time.

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Constantin von Hanneken (1854-1925)

Constantin von Hanneken, was born in Trier, Germany. He spent most of his career in China. He firstly followed the direction his father wanted, joining the military for a short period. A key turning point occurred in 1879, when he met Detring in China. Through his close connection with Detring, he successfully became a military instructor for Li Hongzhang with the Chinese rank of general: later he became an instructor to the navy. He married Detring’s daughter in Tianjin. These connections enabled both Detring and Hanneken to become collectors of Chinese artefacts and to maintain ties with China. Their collection has since been divided among their descendants.

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Tianjin residence

It is very probable that the current vase was a rare example associated with Tang Ying (1682-1756), the influential supervisor of the Imperial kilns who in the 18th century revolutionised Jingdezhen’s porcelain production in terms of quality and style. In the early-Qianlong period, under the directorship of Tang Ying at Jingdezhen, a series of porcelain wares with Qianlong six-character seal mark but slightly larger in size and apparently incorporating the form of the Chinese character ‘you’ in the ‘Qian’ character, in place of the usual ‘ri’ form. Very few of these vessels with this mark were produced for the court and the current vase appears to be one of them.

A Qianlong blue and white and underglaze-red garlic-head vase of very similar decoration from the Shanghai Museum was illustrated in Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pp. 129, 190 and 243, pls. 126 and 190. Three closely related examples have been published: one is from the Tianminlou Collection, which is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1987, pp. 155 and 157, pl. 113; one is from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, which is published in Imperial Perfection: The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors-A Selection from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 84-85, no. 27; and one from the Jingguantang Collection, which is depicted in The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics: Qing Dynasty, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 85 and later offered at Christies’ Hong Kong, 5 November 1997, lot 884. A smaller vase of this design was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 8 October 1990, lot 482.

Also, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, a blue and white and underglaze-red seal box and cover bearing the same style of mark and related to the current example, is illustrated in Qinghua youlihong, Part III, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 235, no. 214.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 27 November 2019

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