Lot 3667. A rare and small doucai 'lotus' 'monk's cap' ewer, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); w. 14.7 cm. Lot Sold 4,953,000 HKD (Estimate 4,500,000 - 6,500,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

Note: The present type of ewer is known as a ‘monk’s cap ewer’ or sengmaohu is an extremely rare example which belongs to a small group of porcelain ritual wares modelled after Tibetan metal prototypes. The form was first copied in porcelain during the Yuan dynasty and was particularly popular during the Yongle and Xuande reigns. Commissioned exclusively by the imperial Qing court, this group of porcelain wares were intended for placement on Buddhist alters, serving as ceremonial objects within the Forbidden City or the revered Summer Palace in Johel.

The specific origin of the monk's cap that possibly served as inspiration for these ewers remains uncertain. However, it is worth noting that Tibetan priests, such as Deshin Shekpa or Shakya Yeshe (1354-1435), who represented Tsongkhapa and were dispatched to the Yongle court, are often portrayed wearing a distinctive rigid black headdress with a unique staggered outline. This design bears resemblance to the rims of the these ewers. With its well-fitting lid, that closes off even its spout, it was probably used to hold hot liquid, possibly Tibetan buttered tea. A monk’s cap ewer can be seen in a somewhat later Tibetan painted textile, placed next to some pear-shaped bottles in front of a Buddhist altar that is set with bowls of fruit, a flower vase, and other offerings for Avalokiteshvara and other deities, see Watt and Leidy, Defining Yongle. Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China New York, 2005, pl. 35 and p.60.

Doucai decoration, where the design is outlined in underglazed-blue and filled in with overglaze enamel, is derived from the technique of cloisonné introduced to China during the Yuan to Ming dynasty. Among the notable periods that witnessed a flouring production of doucai porcelains was the reign of the Chenghua Emperor, during which prestigious porcelains of small size including the esteemed chicken cups and stem cups became highly regarded and continued to be admired by the Qianlong Emperor.

Colours are of prime importance in Tibetan Buddhism. Enlightenment is achieved when the material body is transformed into immaterial five-coloured ‘rainbow light’ and the human body becomes a ‘rainbow body’. The five main colours blue, white, red, green and yellow each have their own significance and symbolic association.

This highly unusual doucai monk’s cap ewer exemplifies the peak of the aesthetic and technical achievement of the Qianlong imperil kiln No other Qianlong-marked doucai ewers appear to have been recorded as most Qianlong period examples were made in a variety of sizes and monochrome glazes. See a copper-red glazed monk’s cap ewer of smaller size, and with gilt highlights in the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2002, p. 197, no. V-33. See also other Qianlong-marked monk’s cap ewers in different monochrome glaze colours, including two in sacrificial blue glaze, one formerly in the Warehouse of Antiquities at the Jingyang Palace in the Forbidden City, now in the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Monarchy and Its Buddhist Way: Tibetan-Buddhist Ritual Implements in the Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, p. 213, no. 115; another of larger size in the Idemitsu Museum, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, no. 954. Compare also with a miniature ewer with four-character mark in pale celadon glaze in the Tianminlou Collection, illustrated in The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. I, pl.158.