Lot 69. Rare vase à six cols en porcelaine bleu blanc, Liukongping, Chine, Dynastie Qing, marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795); 17 cm, 6 3/4 in. Estimate 50,000-70,000 EUR. Lot sold 1,207,150 EUR. Photo Sotheby's

A fine and rare blue and white porcelain six-spouted vase, Liukongping, China, Qing Dynasty, four-character Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795), red paper inventory label

composé d'un vase balustre central entouré de cinq vases plus petits de forme identique, chaque vase s'élargissant en un long col étroit aux bords évasés, le col central surplombant les autres, entièrement peint d'un bleu nuancé de délicates fleurs de lotus dans des rinceaux feuillagés encadrés d'une frise de pétales enserrant le pied et têtes de ruyi marquant l'épaulement, le col souligné de palmettes, marque en cachet à quatre caractères en bleu sous couverte à la base.

PROVENANCE: Collection of Jean Antoine Ernest Constans (1833–1913), former Minister of the Interior (1880-1881), Gouverneur Général of Indochine (from 1887-1888) and Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1898-1909). Thence by descent in the family.

NOTE: With its conjoined six vases, six necks and spouts, the present vase presented a technical challenge even to the most experienced potter. Only few examples of this type are known, some of them slightly larger, others of similarly small size. The majority of these appear to have been covered with monochrome glazes as the monochrome glazes seem to have underlined the form of these vases. Among the known examples area a-dust glazed six-spouted vase formerly in the Qing Court Collection and now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in the Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat.no. 96, and an example of the same small size covered with a clair-de-lune glaze, published in Treasures in the Royalty. The Offical Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p.326; also bearing a four-character Qianlong mark is a vase of this type and size in the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, 1981, cat.no. 128; more recently, yet another celadonglazed example sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2012, lot 237.

Six conjoined vases Porcelain, underglaze blue, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1735-1796), National Palace Museum, Taipei.

A rare celadon-glazed six-necked vase (Liukongping), Qianlong seal mark and period. Height 8 3/4 in., 22.5 cm. Sold for 572,500 USD at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2012, lot 237. Photo Sotheby's

Cf. my post: A rare celadon-glazed six-necked vase (Liukongping), Qianlong seal mark and period

Far fewer examples of this vase type are known where the form has further been embellished with a painted underglaze blue design. Compare, for instance, a closely related blue and white vase of this rare form and of the same size, also formerly in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures from the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, cat.no. 124; compare also another closely related vase decorated overall with a scrolling lotus design, illustrated in Ethereal Elegance, Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing. The Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong, 2007, cat.no. 109.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 13 Jun 2012