Lot 3008. A rare famille-verte 'Wang Zhaojun' tea bowl, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722). Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD (286,495 - 401,093 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

well potted with deep rounded sides supporting on a short foot, the exterior decorated with a continuous scene depicting Wang Zhaojun seated and playing a pipa in a marquee, a bird fluttering towards the figure, the marquee quaintly decorated with an incense burner, an incense tool vase and books, a groom and a horse portrayed outside, amidst jagged rockwork with small chrysanthemum blooms issuing from the sides, the male attendant portrayed seated with his arms crossed and eyes peering at Wang, the interior intricately enamelled in iron-red with two lingzhi blooms amidst delicately rendered green-enamelled leaves, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle, wood stand - 12.2 cm, 4 3/4  in.

Provenance: Yamanaka & Co, New York.
Collection of Allen J. Mercher. 
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 2nd November 1956, lot 228.

Note: This bowl is an outstanding example of the high level of skill of porcelain artists working at Jingdezhen in the Kangxi period and their ability to capture the nuances and detail of landscape paintings and woodblock print illustrations. The figural sections have been carefully rendered in delicate iron-red and black enamel lines, with carefully selected areas of intricate details, such as the folds of drapery and the body of the horse. In contrast to the careful linearity of the figures, the rocks and trees have been painted with swift strokes of varying thickness and length and coloured with layers of enamel to give a sense of the wilderness in which Wang Zhaojun was about to enter.  

Scenes from popular literature are rarely found on Kangxi imperial porcelains and bowls of this shape and level of enamelling are extremely rare. Compare a slightly smaller bowl of this form, painted with the more typical famille-verte style of decoration, depicting a scholar riding a mule, in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4 (II), London, 2010, pl. 1740. For a conical cup depicting the farewell scene between the scholar Zhang Sheng and his lover, Cui Yingqing, before his departure to the capital to compete in the official examinations, from the play Xixiangji ('The West Chamber') by Wang Shifu around 1300, see one illustrated ibid. pl. 1741, and sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 51.

This scene is based on the story of the Western Han court lady Wang Zhaojun, narrated in the 14th century drama Han gong qiu [Autumn of the Han Palace], composed by Ma Zhiyuan (1250-1321). On entering the harem of Emperor Yuandi in 36 AD, the court portraitist Mao Yanshou, who was in charge of preparing portraits of new arrivals for the emperor to scrutinise, painted an unflattering picture of her as she refused to bribe him. As a result she never came to the attention of the emperor until she volunteered to marry the Xiongnu nomad chieftain Huhanye, in an attempt to promote peace and stability between the two courts. On seeing her in person, the emperor realised her great beauty and Mao Yanshou's deception was exposed, which led to his execution.  It was however too late for the emperor to stop the wedding, therefore Wang Zhaojun left China to settle amongst the northern 'barbarians'. The present scene depicts an occurrence in Wang's journey north across the steppe, when the beauty of her voice caused a flock of geese to forget to flap their wings and fall to the ground; hence she is also known as 'falling wild goose'.

Sotheby's. Emperors’ Playthings – a Connoisseur’s Collection, Hong Kong, 06 avr. 2016, 02:20 PM