Les voilà, les jumeaux que mon copain A. voudrait "adopter" pour son salon Louis XV... Ca va saigner!

An Impressive Pair of 'Famille-Rose' Vases and Covers. Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period

The massive vases of baluster form with high shoulder, waisted neck and slight galleried lip, the domed covers with wide everted rims, surmounted by tall lotus-bud finials, the bodies decorated in underglaze blue and colorful enamels with gilt highlights, depicting the fenghuang, the male and female phoenix, among profuse peony blossoms, flowering prunus and rockwork, elaborate cloud collars at the shoulders, the necks with floral reserves against a floret-strewn 'cracked-ice' ground of lime-green, the covers decorated with floral sprays and a border of blossom-ornamented triangles and diaper, repeated at the top of the shoulders, 'jeweled' lappet band at the bases, on later gilt stands (6) - height 53 in., 134.6 cm - Estimate: 120,000—140,000 USD

NOTE : The present pair of vases and covers are among the most impressive of the Chinese porcelain wares made for the European market. Approaching the size of the famed Kangxi period 'soldier vases' of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, vases of this type would have been reserved for the wealthiest of clients. The phoenix among flowers and rockwork was a particularly popular motif decorating these vases. For example, see the vase, formerly in the Collection of C. T. Loo, illustrated in Michel Beurdeley, Porcelain of the East India Companies, London, 1962, no. 69, p. 165. See also the vases from the collections of Mrs. Ronald Greville and Sir Philip Sassoon illustrated in Dr. George C. Williamson, The Book of Famille Rose, Tokyo, 1970, pl. LVII. Examples such as the present pair, decorated in underglaze blue and colorful enamels appear to be much more rare than those decorated purely with enamels. For other examples of this type without underglaze blue decoration, compare the pair with lotus-bud finials to the covers, sold in our Monaco rooms, 4th March 1984, lot 184; a pair with lappet borders to the base, and florets and reserves on a green 'cracked-ice' ground at the neck, sold at Christie's London, 10th June 1996, lot 135; and a third pair, sold at Christie's New York, 21st January 1999, lot 122.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art including Chinese and Japanese Art from The Collection of Frieda and Milton Rosenthal. 16 Sep 08. www.sotheby's.com