Lot 60. Vase meiping en porcelaine bleu, blanc et rouge de cuivre. Chine, dynastie Qing, époque Yongzheng (1723-1735)-Qianlong (1736-1795);   37,5 cm,14 3/4 in. Estimate 80,000-120,000 EUR. Lot sold 108,750 EUR. Photo Sotheby's 2011 

la panse du vase allant en s'élargissant et se terminant en un col plus étroit légèrement évasé, à décor de fleurs de lotus dans des rinceaux feuillagés, le pied souligné d'une frise de pétales stylisés, le col de têtes de ruyi abritant des caractères shou; la base non-émaillée.

An underglazed-blue and red meiping vase, China, Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng (1723-1735)/Qianlong (1736-1795) period

Note: This vase is unusual for the dense composition of lotus flowers within a foliate scroll between two elaborate bands of Iand lotus blooms at the shoulder and lappet foot. The design is inspired by marked vessels; see one with a Qianlong seal mark and of the period, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 207; another sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1999, lot 801, and again at Christie's London, 10th May 2011, lot 276; and a third sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th April 2000, lot 527. These marked examples differ slightly in form and decoration as the shoulders are more rounded and the central band is flanked by a lappet border at the shoulder and a row of tall stiff leaves at the foot.

The design of this vase is inspired by smaller meiping vases from the Xuande period (1426-35) which were decorated with a foliate lotus flower design between plantain leaves encircling the shoulder and foot; see a Xuande mark and period vase from the H.R. Norton and R.H.R. Palmer collections, most recently sold in our London rooms, 18th November 1998, lot 865; and another, included in the exhibition The Exquisite Chinese Artifacts. Collections of the Ching Wan Society, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1995, cat. no. 95, sold twice at Christie's Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 522, and again, 27th May 2009, lot 1802. The Qing versions have developed upon the Xuande originals by painting the lotus blooms in copper red, a highly volatile pigment which demanded both painting and firing technical precision of the craftsmen.

The combination of copper red flower blooms against an underglaze blue leafy scroll appears to have been first explored during the Yongzheng reign; see a large hu vase with chilong handles painted overall with a similar design, with a Yongzheng seal mark and of the period, published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 227.

Sotheby's. Arts D'Asie. Paris, 15Dec2011