Gourde en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, Dynastie Qing, marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Sotheby's

Photo Sotheby'sla panse circulaire reposant sur un haut pied évasé, le col cylindrique aux bords légèrement ourlés flanqué d'anses ajourées en têtes d'animaux fabuleux, très délicatement peinte au centre d'une chauve-souris tourbillonnant parmi des pêches de longévité dans leur feuillage, ce médaillon central entouré de fleurs de lotus dans des rinceaux, le col souligné d'une frise de ruyi et le pied de lingzhi et frise de pétales stylisés; 49,5 cm, 19 1/2 in. Estimate 500,000-700,000 EUR

A blue and white porcelain moonflask, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and period  (1736-1795)

PROVENANCE: Acquired by the grand-parents of the present owner in Paris in the 1920's.

NOTE: The Qianlong emperor's connoisseurship of arts is well documented and his vast collection, especially of ceramics, contained true masterpieces. For its magnificent size and beautifully painted decoration the present moonflask would have been amongst his prized possessions. It represents one of the most challenging and advanced pieces made during his reign. The production of exquisitely decorated large and undistorted vessels required considerable expertise from the potter, who in this case borrowed extensively from archaistic forms and decorative motifs while creating a piece that was contemporary. Reference to ancient forms and archaistic designs was much appreciated by the emperor who embraced art not only for its connection with a reference to a glorious past. Qianlong's personal taste, which tended towards extravagant and showy objects, greatly influenced the making of technically challenging and artistically complex display pieces. The production of large vessels, which have considerable weight, required the highest level of technical skill only to be found amongst potters working in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, under the instructions of China's most famous Superintendent, Tang Ying. Imperial records confirm that Qianlong habitually asked Tang Ying to design special pieces for him and his discernment of Tang's ability as well as his sponsorship of him in key posts in the artistic hierarchy of porcelain manufacture allowed such fine wares to come into being.

The decoration on this flask is meticulously executed and painted in the finest cobalt-blue. The design arrangement is perfectly balanced with just the appropriate amount of space left between the scrolling leafy stems, the flower-heads and the medallion design to make the decoration appear rich yet not overcrowded. The bulging oval section creates an almost trompe-l'oeil effect of rendering the flower heads three-dimensional. Both the shape of the vessel and the decoration take their inspiration from early 15th century blue and white porcelain.

The shape of this flask is an adaptation of much earlier pilgrim bottles of the Tang dynasty made of leather. During the Tang period, pilgrim bottles, which themselves borrowed the form from archaic bronzes, became the inspiration for ceramic replicas which were used to contain wine. However, Qing blue-and-white moonflasks were largely derived from the early Ming prototypes. This moonflask appears to be after the well-known Xuande period vessel painted with composite flower scroll motif, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci, Beijing, 2002, pl. 86. See another Xuande flask of much smaller dimensions, but the neck similarly flanked by two handles, illustrated ibid., pl. 87. According to Regina Krahl, flasks of such ample dimensions may have been specifically designed as weighty diplomatic gifts rather than practical household implements. To foreign nations they perfectly symbolized the power and technical advancement competence of the Ming empire. (See Regina Krahl, 'A symbol of the Yongle court', The Meiyintang Collection. Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 2011, p. 172.)

Perhaps the Qing dynasty version was made with a similar intention in mind. Only one other closely comparable example of this elegant form painted with the same design is known, possibly the pair to the present piece: a flask offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1997, lot 1463.

The decoration on this vessel is unusual for Qing period moonflasks and more common are vessels belonging to this special group painted with a large five-clawed dragon rendered with a ferocious expression, such as the one sold in our London rooms, 7th November 2007, lot 407, of similar size and brilliant deep blue glaze as seen on this piece.

Another smaller flask, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, with the dragon motif is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, 132; one was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 13th November 1987, lot 529; and a third example, from the Wang Xing Lou collection, is included in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 20. A blue-and-white moonflask of this form and size, in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, and published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 152, can be seen painted with a dragon depicted facing sideways; while a further, slightly smaller, example with the 'dragon and phoenix' design in a circular panel was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 510.

Compare also a larger blue-and-white flask (height 54.3 cm) of this elegant form, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, decorated all over with a pattern of leafy flower scroll and with two dragon handles, sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 606. A Qianlong flask of more compressed globular form but decorated in rich cobalt-blue tones with a central dragon medallion encircled by a leafy composite floral scroll was sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 105.

Moonflasks of this type and impressive large size were also decorated in the doucai colour scheme, where the design is outlined in underglaze-blue and overglaze enamel washes; for example see one sold in our New York rooms, 8th November 1980, lot 218, and again twice at Christie's New York, 22nd March 1999, lot 317, and 21st September 2004, lot 331; and another doucai flask of similar shape with the dragon motif included in the exhibition China. The Three Emperors, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, cat. no. 217.

For Qianlong mark and period wares decorated with medallions of fruiting branches of peach and bats, see a blue and white vase of bronze hu form, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, book II, Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 13; and another sold in our New York rooms, 30th May 1990, lot 167. 

Sotheby's. Arts D'Asie. Paris | 15 Dec 2011 www.sothebys.com