A Rare Yuan-Style Doucai ‘Peacock And Peony’ Meiping And Cover, Qianlong Period, 1736-1795

Lot 3309. A Rare Yuan-Style Doucai ‘Peacock And Peony’ Meiping And Cover, Qianlong Period (1736-1795). H 39cm. Estimate HKD 1,200,000 - 1,500,000 (USD 153,846 - 192,308). Sold Price: HKD 1,320,000 (USD 169,231). Copyright 2021 © Poly Auction Hong Kong Limited

An overall rounded silhouette with a narrow mouth, a cover in the shape of a lotus flower. A clearly structured design scheme decorated in doucai depicting floral motifs at the neck and shoulder, the middle with two majestic phoenixes among four sets of floral designs. A band of lappets painted in vibrant glazes at the foot.

Provenance: 1. Collection of Mr. Gilbert Crutel, Paris, France, 1
2. Duchange family collection, Paris, France
3. Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2016, lot. 116.

Note: This elegant vase belongs to a particular group of doucai vases, characterized by forms and designs that closely follow 14th century blue-and-white porcelains. The tripartite division of the motif, bold rendering of flowers and serrated leaves are features of Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) meiping vases. See a Shanghai Museum collection in the exhibition Splendors in Smalt. Art of Yuan Blue and White Porcelain, Shanghai, 2012, cat. no. 13.

Compare a larger vase, sold in Christie’s London, 23 March 1987, lot 405, another at Sotheby’s New York, 8 May 1981, lot 332. See a larger example sold twice in Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 30 April 1991, lot 128 and on 8 October 2010, lot 2685. See another sold in Sotheby’s London, 22 May 1985, lot 191. One in the collection of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1954, pl. 88.

The doucai design of the current lot is inspired by Ming cloisonné enamels and the prototype was first introduced in the Ming dynasty during the Chenghua reign. ‘Chicken’ cups and stem bowls are among the finest productions during that time, and were deeply favoured by the Qing people, in particular, the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The design also resonates Chenghua blue-and-white wares, see two pairs of example from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch’eng-Hua Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, no. 171-4, see also a ‘lingzhi’ jar and cover in the same collection.