ot 66. A rare biscuit porcelain relief-carved 'landscape' jar, Daoguang seal mark and of the period (1821-1850); 16cm (6 1/4in) high. Sold for £32,500 (€41,586). © Bonhams 2001-2016.

Finely and meticulously carved on the exterior with a fenced pavilion, inside a scholar at a desk while another figure fetches tea, all within a continuous landscape of heaped mountains, bamboo, pines and wutong trees, in the distance a moored boat and a distant bridge, exquisitely delineated to create an enchanting scene, all between floral scrolls on a diaper-pattern ground on the neck and base, wood stand. (2). 

Provenance: an English private collection, assembled in Hong Kong from 1967-1989, and thence by descent.

Note: The elaborate yet delicate landscape carving style, as exemplified by the present jar, suggests it was carved by one of the great craftsmen of the time, possibly Chen Guozhi 陳國治 (circa 1820-1860). Chen was a native of Qimen, Anhui province, and was renowned for his ability to carve designs on porcelain with the intricacy and elegance of those found on paintings. He was active during the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns and may have worked for the imperial court, suggested by the appearance of an Imperial reign mark and his name on some of his wares. 

Although Chen was an accomplished artist of the period, little was mentioned about his career in 19th century literary sources. One such account appears in Richard John Lynn's 1991 translation of Zhao Zhiqian's book on snuff bottles of the late nineteenth century. In this account, the unique quality of Chen's workmanship was described as similar to 'carved porcelain bottles with the technique of a painter ... just as they might appear in an album of paintings done by the Song-era Painting Academy... although there are others who try to imitate his work, no one ever manages to match it.' Another account by Jin Wuxiang, author of Suxiang Suibi in the Guangxu period, stated the value of Chen's work as 'every piece being valued at ten pieces of gold', and the magistrate named Jiang Juting presented him with a calligraphy couplet in praise, reading 'Earth and clay turned to gold and jade; a man in plain cloth becomes of royal rank'. See H.Moss, V.Graham, and K.B.Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection. Vol.6. Part 3. Arts of the Fire, Hong Kong, 2008, pp.759-762. 

Compare with a related relief-carved biscuit vase, Daoguang seal mark and of the period, of similar shape decorated with landscape scenes and lotus scrolls to the waisted neck, in the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, illustrated in The Wonders of the Potter's Palette: Qing Ceramics from the Collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, p.162, no.107. Another related biscuit porcelain relief-carved brushpot of similar style, Daoguang seal mark and of the period, which was sold in our rooms, 6 November 2014, lot 192. 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23237: FINE CHINESE ART, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET