A rare famille rose-decorated mirror-black-glazed double-gourd vase, 18th century
Lot 2191. A rare famille rose-decorated mirror-black-glazed double-gourd vase, 18th century; 23¾ in. (60.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. Price Realized USD 17,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014.
The body and neck are subtly divided into eight vertical lobes highlighted by gilt lines. The neck is flanked by a pair of handles formed by vines bearing three gourds in high relief amidst the leafy tendrils that trail down onto the shoulder, all against the lustrous black ground. The interior of the neck and base are white.
Note: Only one other similar vase, of smaller size (17¾ in.), appears to have been published. It was sold at Christie's New York, 16-17 September 2010, lot 1488. These two rare vases share a certain affinity with the eccentric Qianlong-marked vessels decorated around the shoulders or rims with fruits, flowers, clambering boys, or dragons modeled in extremely high relief and painted in bright famille rose enamels. For a Qianlong-marked vase decorated around the neck with peaches and lingzhi fungus modeled in high relief, see Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 363, no. 44.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 20 - 21 March 2014