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Click here to subscribeA Chinese porcelain figure of an immortal, in green, aubergine and yellow robe, on pierced base, 28cm h, a 20th c Chinese porcelain figure of a young woman on a seat and a Chinese earthenware figure of a man inside a jar (3) Immortal - good condition. Seated girl - lacking right hand and repaired chip to hat. Man - good condition
A rare Chinese underglaze blue and copper red porcelain model of the ‘Vinegar Tasters’, Qing dynasty,modelled as the famous Song dynasty poets and scholars Su Dongpo (Su Shi) representing Confucianism and Huang Tingjian representing Taoism, standing each side of the monk Fo Yin representing Buddhism, each man tasting from a large flower decorated vat of vinegar, their expression representing the predominant attitude of their philosophy, each with biscuit porcelain heads and hands, their hats and robes decorated in underglaze blue and red with Shou medallions, Shou characters or flowers, the hems of their robes covered in a pale celadon glaze.The depiction of the Vinegar Tasters tasting peach blossom vinegar was very popular during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, because the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism represented a different understanding of life in the three most important religious philosophies in China. The subject is best known in Chinese paintings and normally depicts Confucius, Laozi and Buddha. A similar celadon glazed porcelain sculpture of the Vinegar Tasters in Gianfu Museum collection, Beijing is thought to date to the Qianlong period.26.cm highThe under glaze copper read has drizzled and not quite taken in places and has turned slightly green in firing on a few patches. There are areas of burnt orange to the interior of the vessel where the glaze hasn’t taken. There are visible over glazed firing cracks around the join of the figures to the central jar - these are in manufacture. There is some fritting to the glaze around the base of the central vessel and the base of each of the figures. Some areas of grubbiness in places which will remove, otherwise in good condition.PLEASE NOTE:- Prospective buyers are strongly advised to examine personally any goods in which they are interested BEFORE the auction takes place. Whilst every care is taken in the accuracy of condition reports, Gorringes provide no other guarantee to the buyer other than in relation to forgeries. Many items are of an age or nature which precludes their being in perfect condition and some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. We provide this information for guidance only and will not be held responsible for oversights concerning defects or restoration, nor does a reference to a particular defect imply the absence of any others. Prospective purchasers must accept these reports as genuine efforts by Gorringes or must take other steps to verify condition of lots. If you are unable to open the image file attached to this report, please let us know as soon as possible and we will re-send your images on a separate e-mail. 26.cm high
A Chinese enamelled porcelain ovoid jar, early Kangxi period,painted with ribbon-tied auspicious emblems.Provenance - Bonham’s Roger Keverne sale lot 756, 8 June 202116cm highThere is wear and scratching to the glaze consistent with age and use. There is some fritting and small glaze losses around the rim. There are a few star cracks visible on the interior of the jar which do not appear on the exterior.PLEASE NOTE:- Prospective buyers are strongly advised to examine personally any goods in which they are interested BEFORE the auction takes place. Whilst every care is taken in the accuracy of condition reports, Gorringes provide no other guarantee to the buyer other than in relation to forgeries. Many items are of an age or nature which precludes their being in perfect condition and some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. We provide this information for guidance only and will not be held responsible for oversights concerning defects or restoration, nor does a reference to a particular defect imply the absence of any others. Prospective purchasers must accept these reports as genuine efforts by Gorringes or must take other steps to verify condition of lots. If you are unable to open the image file attached to this report, please let us know as soon as possible and we will re-send your images on a separate e-mail. 16cm high
A rare Chinese ruby ground medallion vase, Huairentang mark, early Republic period,finely painted to three oval medallions with two quails below chrysanthemums, two black birds amid Prunus and fungus and a Cockrell by rockwork and flowers, on a ruby pink ground, the base with ‘Huai ren tang zhi’ blue enamelled seal mark to base.Provenance - the vase has been in the owner’s family prior to 1985.The Huairen Hall or Huairentang (Hall of Cherished Compassion) is a building inside Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government's leadership compound in Beijing. It has been the site of several major events in Chinese history. Construction of the hall began in 1885 and was overseen by Yixuan, Prince Chun. In 1888 the hall became the daily workplace of Dowager Empress Cixi, replacing the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the nearby Forbidden City. After the Boxer rebellion, Huairentang became the headquarters of occupying Eight Nation Alliance's commander Alfred von Waldersee. In 1902 Empress Cixi rebuilt Huairentang at a cost of five million taels of silver and in 1908 she died there. After the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, President Yuan Shikai used the building to meet with foreign guests and to accept New Year's day greetings. After Yuan's death, it was the site of his funeral. When Cao Kun became president, he used Huairentang as his residence. See Gerald Davison, The new and revised handbook of marks on Chinese ceramics, 2010, number 3195 for a version of this mark.24cm highThe porcelain thin and well potted as light can be seen through the vase when held up to our interior lighting. There is wear to the gilding around the edge of the rim, a few small scratches to the shoulder between two of the oval medallions and some occasional dirt which will remove with a thumb nail. Otherwise in good condition with no restoration chips or cracks detected.PLEASE NOTE:- Prospective buyers are strongly advised to examine personally any goods in which they are interested BEFORE the auction takes place. Whilst every care is taken in the accuracy of condition reports, Gorringes provide no other guarantee to the buyer other than in relation to forgeries. Many items are of an age or nature which precludes their being in perfect condition and some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. We provide this information for guidance only and will not be held responsible for oversights concerning defects or restoration, nor does a reference to a particular defect imply the absence of any others. Prospective purchasers must accept these reports as genuine efforts by Gorringes or must take other steps to verify condition of lots. If you are unable to open the image file attached to this report, please let us know as soon as possible and we will re-send your images on a separate e-mail. 24cm high
R L Hobson, Chinese pottery and porcelain, two volumes, published by Cassell and Company Ltd London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne 1915, limited edition number 463/1500Both of the spines have been pushed out of shape slightly, with some slight fading and discolouration to the cloth boards. Internally there is some slight staining and spotting to all of the pages more noticeably at the front and back of the book otherwise in reasonable condition.PLEASE NOTE:- Prospective buyers are strongly advised to examine personally any goods in which they are interested BEFORE the auction takes place. Whilst every care is taken in the accuracy of condition reports, Gorringes provide no other guarantee to the buyer other than in relation to forgeries. Many items are of an age or nature which precludes their being in perfect condition and some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. We provide this information for guidance only and will not be held responsible for oversights concerning defects or restoration, nor does a reference to a particular defect imply the absence of any others. Prospective purchasers must accept these reports as genuine efforts by Gorringes or must take other steps to verify condition of lots. If you are unable to open the image file attached to this report, please let us know as soon as possible and we will re-send your images on a separate e-mail.
A Chinese blanc-de-chine jar, Dehua kilns, Kangxi period,of barrel seat form,8cm high excluding wood cover and standThe jar has typical minor over glazed firing faults and unglazed patches, lacking its original porcelain cover. The wood cover and stand are in good conditionPLEASE NOTE:- Prospective buyers are strongly advised to examine personally any goods in which they are interested BEFORE the auction takes place. Whilst every care is taken in the accuracy of condition reports, Gorringes provide no other guarantee to the buyer other than in relation to forgeries. Many items are of an age or nature which precludes their being in perfect condition and some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. We provide this information for guidance only and will not be held responsible for oversights concerning defects or restoration, nor does a reference to a particular defect imply the absence of any others. Prospective purchasers must accept these reports as genuine efforts by Gorringes or must take other steps to verify condition of lots. If you are unable to open the image file attached to this report, please let us know as soon as possible and we will re-send your images on a separate e-mail. 8cm high excluding wood cover and stand
Chinese Art A lobed craquelé porcelain vase China, 20th century . . Cm 7,00 x 12,50. Bottle-shaped, in quadrangular section, with polylobate walls, rounded body surmounted by a high splayed neck and elegant craquelé olive glaze. The taste for this peculiar type of glaze is due to the spread of the splendid "Ge" production of the Song era, characterized by the conspicuous and deliberate craquelure. The resulting decorative net is called by collectors 'gold and iron' for the elegant combination of two overlapping layers: a thicker and less evident yellowish color one and a wider, deeper and more visible dark colored one.
Chinese Art A pair of bamboo wooden hat stands China, 19th century . . Cm 11,00 x 27,00. Two hollowed bamboo hat holders. This typical accessory, often made of porcelain, expected the headdress to rest on the top end. The holes made in the wall allowed the ventilation inside the hat which could thus be kept cool and dry.
Chinese Art Jun porcelain bowl China, 19th cen. (or earlier) . . Cm 10,50 x 5,00. Elegant porcelain stoneware cup covered by thick lavander glaze with large violet splashes in the classic match typical of this type of porcelain. The rounded shape, the large rounded walls and the slightly flattened bottom resting on the short circular foot are typical features of the Jun production from the Song-Jin period (960-1234).
Chinese Art A porcelain Yangcai cupChina, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 15,00 x 8,00. White porcelain bowl with refined polychrome decoration of rocks and peony flower branches. This cup, which can be included in the so-called “pink family”, or Yancai in Chinese, evokes the production of this genre that flourished in China under the reign of Yongzheng (1722-1735). Yancai porcelain, literally "foreign colors", is a generic term used to identify all porcelains with pink pigment, which is the "foreign" color, made with precious colloidal gold, imported into China by the Jesuits. The pink color, able to give a touch of soft elegance and refined exoticism, was used for a great variety of porcelain vessels, both for the domestic and for export market to Europe. The growing interest of the court for this new palette of colors led the potters to create true masterpieces of virtuosity characterized by rarefied compositions, always based on the perfect balance of shapes and colors. The favorite themes, typically imaginary naturalistic landscapes with rocks and flowering plants, refer to complex linguistic games, poems or auspices, based on the homophony of the painted subjects.
Chinese Art A blue and white Nanking cargo porcelain bowl China, Transitional period, 17th century . . Cm 19,00 x 8,50. Resting on a disc foot, the exterior underglaze painted with landscape and lush greenery.On January 3rd 1752, the Geldermalsen ship of the Dutch India Company, VOC, struck the reef and sank in the South China Sea. It was a cargo ship that left Nanking, in the province of Jiangsu, headed to the Motherland filled with Jingdezhen porcelain, tea, silks and other typically oriental products.The ship was sunk up to 1985 when it was discovered by Captain Michael Hatcher. In April of the same year Christie's Amsterdam auctioned the result of the discovery coining the term "Nanking Cargo".
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain brush washer China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century . . Cm 8,00 x 4,00. of lenticular shape, made of heavy porcelain with white/blue painted decoration. This sort of containers were part of the typical kit that every scholar used to have on his desk, along with the brushpot, the brush rest, the ink stone and the paper weights to spread the scrolls. This brushwasher stands out for its cursive style and the peculiar shade of cobalt blue with large “watercolor” background, typical of the late Ming period manufacture.
Chinese Art A Blanc de Chine figure of Li Tieguai ImmortalChina, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 27,50. A white porcelain sculpture depicting one of the eight Immortals, Li Tieguai, standing on a cloud. Impressed mark at the back.White porcelain of this sort, known in the West by their French name "Blanc de Chine", were produced in the kilns of Dehua, in the Fujian province.
Chinese Art A rare blue and white porcelain armorial dish decorated with the Ginori Family coat of armsChina, Qing dynasty, Kangxi mark and period, late 17th century . . Cm 32,60 x 7,00. Resting on a disc, the interior delicately painted in underglaze blue with a double band containing floral and vegetal motifs that prelude the central circle with the Ginori family coat of arms: a shield with three stars surmounted by a helmet without a crown. Kangxi leaf mark within double circle on the base.The dish is part of a set commissioned by the noble Florentine family and reported in documentary sources as "Nagasaki set", a name that was probably associated with it by reconstructing the path that the porcelain, commissioned to the factories of Jingdezhen, made to reach Europe through Portuguese trades. which usually stopped by in Nagasaki and Imari and then left for Goa, hence Europe.As a matter of fact, from Ginori documentation we learn that:... an unspecified number of cases (perhaps 6) and the payment for the expenses incurred by the "friends of Goa" will be made on 16 May 1701 (Lucini-Perotto in, Il servito Ginori, uno studio ed un'esposizione, Perotto, Milano, 1988, p.24).Corbellier (China trade porcelain, patterns of exchange. New York, 1974) reconstructs the history of "armorial" pottery produced in China for noble European families, in the period between 1690 and 1710. Among these there is a set with decoration very similar to that of Ginori, but with the blazon of the Coelho family. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the commission of armorial pottery was recurrent among the noble families of the time and that there was a figurative repertoire to some extent shared.A plate of the same service, with a decorative variant, but always bearing the Ginori coat of arms is at the MET in New York Acc. 62.188 and published in CORBEILLER, FRELINGHUYSEN, Chinese Export Porcelain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bullettin, 2003, Volume LX , Number3, cat. 16, p. 19;Another was sold by Christie's, lot 219 in 2003A third was sold by Bonhams, Lot 21 in 2004Finally, recently, a dish was at Wannenes, lot 21, Asian Art auction, 2 December 2021.
Chinese Art A pair of porcelain chargers China, Qing dynasty, 18th century . . Cm 28,50 x 21,00. Two porcelain chargers with underglaze blue landscape decoration. Pottery of this type -based on Western prototypes and decorated with genre scenes, landscapes, buildings, trees and people - were produced in large quantities throughout the 18th and 19th centuries to be exported in Europe.
Chinese Art A small celadon pourer China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) . . Cm 8,00 x 4,50. An interesting calligrapher item made of celadon porcelain in the form of a small teapot. This object -meant to contain the water to dissolve the ink- is part of the typical kit of the Chinese scholar. Furthermore, this pourer was most possibly manufactured in the Longquan kilns during the Yuan period, as its peculiar sober moulded relief decoration under the pale green glaze suggests.
Chinese Art Three celadon glazed pottery containers China, Song dynasty (960-1279) . . Cm 10,00 x 6,50. A group of three celadon glazed porcelain water containers. Rounded in shape, the three calligrapher accessories are characterized by slight variations in the shape and type of enamel used, which suggests a different place of production. The specimen equipped with two small circular handles, identified by an olive-colored glazing that reveals the relief underglaze decoration, is an example of the so-called Yaozhou production, or the "Northern Celadons" produced during the Northern Song dynasty, especially in the Henan province. The other two containers, on the other hand, could be attributable to the production of Longquan, also from the Song era in Southern China.
Chinese Art A polylobed porcelain cupChina, Qing dynasty, 18th century. . Cm 21,00 x 10,00. A lobed edges cup painted with underglaze blue on a white background with vegetal motifs and central medallion with Qilin admist waves and clouds. This cup is inspired by Ming blue and white pottery both in the decoration and in the six-character Xuande (1426-1435) mark at the base.The qilin is a mythological creature regarded as the noblest of the living beings that walk the earth, according to the Chinese tradition. It is a sort of chimera equipped with a bizarre horn, and its natural dual nature is considered to be able to make coexist the male and female components within the same body. Similarly to the fate of the unicorn in the Western tradition, the Qilin is believed to live a thousand years and to bring peace and well-being to the lands where it resides. It is the true symbol of the Good.The qilin, together with the dragon and the phoenix, is placed at the top of the hierarchical pyramid of living creatures.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain vaseChina, Qing dynasty, 18th century. . Cm 19,00 x 15,00. Globular porcelain vessel with large mouth and overlapping bands with stylized clouds, meanders, leaves and plant intertwining. Vessels of this type were usually intended as spittoons, an accessory of practical use widespread in China. The excellent quality of this piece indicates that it must be considered an object intended for the upper classes.
Chinese Art A porcelain headrest China, Song dynasty (960-1279) . . Cm 17,00 x 11,50. A milk glazed white porcelain headrest with quadrangular shape resting on four feet. This kind of accessory was introduced in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and then spread rapidly, with an infinite variety of models, in the following centuries. Many of these objects, comonly used in the middle and upper middle social classes, were produced in peripheral kilns of Northern China, linked to the so-called Chizhou production developed under the Tang and Song dynasties.
Chinese Art A Celadon dish with short brim China, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) . . Cm 7,00 x 27,50. Plate made of heavy-bodied ceramic covered with an elegant pale green glaze in imitation of jade produced in the Longquan kilns. The plate, characterized by a short, smooth and unadorned rim, has the wall of the bowl decorated with an engraved leaf motif. Objects of this type, known in the West by the generic name of Celadon porcelain, were made of stoneware coated with a layer of translucent green or blue-green enamel, produced with iron oxide in a reducing atmosphere. The Celadon family, also cataloged with the Anglo-Saxon term of green-ware, is wide and includes various artifacts made in the most disparate locations in Central Asia (China, Japan and Korea) and South East Asia (Thailand and Vietnam). Under the Song rulers, around the 12th century, the grandiose Longquan kilns were inaugurated in China and this event gave rise to a large-scale production meant for trade routes throughout the East. For their extraordinary solidity, pleasantness to the touch and beauty, the Longquan celadon were highly appreciated both in China and in the Middle East, where they were successfully exported.
Chinese Art A blackware ding censer China Song. . Cm 12,00 x 8,00. Small tripod of heavy-bodied porcelain covered by thick, bright black glazing with violet reflections and brown pigmented areas at the zoomorphic handles, the feet and the everted upper edge. The specimen of its shape roots in the ancient Shang period.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain cachepot China, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 27,50 x 20,50. Porcelain cachepot with blue and white painted decoration of foliate branches and lotus flowers. The vase is a classic example of an interior furnishing item inspired by the white/blue production of the Ming era.
Chinese Art A pair of polychrome porcelain lion shaped incense holdersChina, Qing dynasty, 18th century . . Cm 24,00. Pair of altar accessories shaped as a couple of Shi, the classic guardian lion of the Buddhist tradition. Both made of heavy-bodied porcelain, showing a lively polychrome glaze with large areas in pink enamel, this being a pigment that was introduced to China by the Jesuits in the middle of the 18th century. The two lions, crouched on their legs, lean with their backs on two slightly splayed cannulas designed to contain the incense stick.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain dish China, Transitional Period (1620-1683). . Cm 30,00 x 7,00. A blue underglaze painted thin porcelain dish. The white cavetto, framed by the brim decorated with birds and sprays desily interweaved, circumscribes the central circle on which five large flowered corollas arranged in quincunxes stand out. Manufacture mark at the base. This type of pottery, inspired to the Yuan and Ming, was mainly intended for export to Europe and to the Middle East. Its main feature is the cursive style of the decoration on a ceramic body not always matching high quality standards, being it subject to cracking and often affected by cooking defects. Nonetheless, the final product always strikes for its expressiveness, personality and high decorative value, which is exactly why these products have been very popular in the West for centuries.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain baluster vase China, Qing dynasty, 17th century . . Cm 12,00 x 25,00. Porcelain vase with underglaze blue floral and geometric decoration within cartouches. Vases of this type were produced in large quantities under the reign of the Emperor Kangxi (1661-1722) and destined to be exported in Europe where they were highly appreciated for their sober chromatic contrast.
Chinese Art A craquelé porcelain censerChina, Qing dynasty, 18th century (?). . Cm 19,00 x 6,50. cylindrical vessel with short brim covered with thick white glaze strewd with large brown craquelure. . This piece, intended as a calligrapher accessory or a censer, replicates one of the typical artifacts of the Song era (960-1279) attributable to the Ge ware group, characterized by a dense network of cracks intentionally made as a decorative element.
Chinese Art A zoomorphic Dehua teapot China, Qing dynasty, 18th century . . Cm 19,00 x 10,50. A white porcelain duck-shaped teapot molded with four suspension holes for the now missing handle that must have been made of woven rush. Artifacts of such type, also known by the Western name of "Blanc de Chine", were produced in the kilns of Dehua in the province of Fujian, specialized in the production of white porcelain, mostly intended for the export market.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain water dropper China, Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1572-1620). . Cm 10,00 x 8,50. A round shaped water pot with straight shoulder and short cylindrical neck. The exterior painted in underglaze blue with vertical panels containing deers on stylized plant shoots. Crown of ruyi heads on the shoulder.The porcelains produced in the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen in the Ming period were generally of four types: white and blue, decorated with overglaze enamels, monochrome and, rarely, red and white.
Chinese Art A craquelé glazed porcelain bottle China, Song dynasty (960-1279) . . Cm 8,00 x 14,50. Interesting bottle made of heavy porcelain covered by a thick gray-green glaze with darker dots and affected by an extensive craquelure. The particular shape of this bottle-shaped vase, is common to other artifacts attributable to the production of the Hebei province whose peculiar green was most possibly an imitation of the jade.
Chinese Art A tripod Dehua porcelain censer China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1661-1722) . . Cm 13,50 x 8,00. A white glazed heavy-bodied porcelain censer attributable to the vast production of artifacts made in Dehua in Fujian province. The shape of this object is inspired by the ancient bronze “ding” food containers of the Shang period to which the Chinese tradition attributes symbolic values.
Chinese Art A Jun bottle vaseChina, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 25,50. Large heavy-bodied porcelain vase with high splayed neck covered by a brilliant blued glaze with large carmine colored central splash. This type of glaze was developed in China during the Song dynasty and it is known as Jun porcelain. This bottle strikes for its perfect chromatic balance and it is attributable to the Song pottery revival fashion which had a big success in Jingdezhen during the 19th century.
Chinese Art A famille rose brush washer painted with landscape China, Qing dynasty, Guangxu mark and period (1874-1908) . . Cm 10,50 x 10,00. A white porcelain globular vase decorated with landscape, blossoming trees and shrubs. This type of decoration, based on the elegant chromatic combination of the Falangcai palette on the white background of the porcelain, was introduced in China at the beginning of the 18th century, then reaching its apex during the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong. This vase is a classic example of late production with a six-character imperial mark in underglaze blue.
Chinese Art A squared faceted blue and white porcelain bottle China, late Ming dynasty, late 16th century . . Cm 10,00 x 24,50 x 9,00. Beautiful square section bottle with flared neck. The exterior is delicately painted, on each side, with blue underglaze flowers on a white background; the shoulder is decorated with ruyi heads and rhombuses in reserve on a blue fretwork background with geometric motifs grouped in auspicious swastikas.The peculiar shape of this bottle derives from European glass prototypes used for the storage of alcoholic products on ships. As a matter of fact, the faceted shape was an expedient that allowed bottles to be stored side by side with little waste, thus allowing the transport of much more goods comparing to the classic cylindrical shape.
Chinese Art A Dehua porcelain bowl China, Qing dynasty, 17th century. . Cm 15,00 x 5,00. A white porcelain flaring cup with jagged edge. It has an unglazed bottom that leaves the white ceramic body uncovered and hidden anhua decoration engraved on the inner walls.This type of pottery, known in the West by the French term of “Blanc de Chine”, was made in Dehua in the Fujian province as early as the Ming era. The characteristic white color, often associated with molded ceramic bodies, is the key note of this production, highly appreciated also in the West, where many of these artifacts were addressed.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain bowl with floral decoration China, Qing dynasty, 17th century . . Cm 7,50 x 19,00. Short-brimmed cup with gilded edge, made of white porcelain with underglaze blue floral motifs. This typically Chinese shape, gave rise to a vast production largely destined for export. The type of decoration, rarefied and elegant, is influenced by the Japanese aesthetic of the same period and it is possible that this object was properly conceived for that market.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain charger China, Qing dyansty, Kangxi mark and period (1661-1722). . Cm 38,00 x 5,00. .An important blue and white porcelain export charger painted with flowered reserves. This splendid serving dish draws inspiration from the late Ming and Transition models meant to be exported to Europe through the trade of the East India Company. This particular type of pottery was known in the West by the Dutch term of “kraakporselein” after the name of the fast ships imployed by the VOC for intercontinental trades (Kraak). Characterized by dense interweaving decoration within lobed radial reserves, the kraak porcelain was very much appreciated for sumptuous European furnishings of the Baroque era. This charger stands out for the excellent quality of the ceramic body and the decoration made in a luminous shade of blue, typical of the production of the Kangxi period to which this piece is attributable as indicated by the mark at the bottom.
Chinese Art A porcelain lion shaped sculptureChina, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1661-1722). . Cm 16,50 x 24,00. polychrome porcelain sculpture depicting a crouching feline, possibly a lion. The beautiful “aubergine” glaze, skillfully distributed to imitate the thick fur of the beast, frames its hairless and lumpy head, which looks up with a friendly and vaguely human expression. The subject depicted, perhaps a “free” reinterpretation of the classic Buddhist lion Shi, is part of a large production of similar artifacts, made in China under the reign of Kangxi (1661-1722) and often destined for export to Europe.
Chinese Art A famille rose porcelain hu vase bearing a Qianlong mark at the base China, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 15,50 x 26,50. A white porcelain Hu shaped vase with historiated decoration depicting a royal parade and landscape. The particular shape of this vase, derived from the so-called “fengwei zun” model (literally “phoenix tail”), is characterized by the sinuous shapes applied to a squared section. The decoration, based on the elegant chromatic combination of “famille rose” enamels with the sober blue decoration of the neck, evokes the models of the period, Yongzhen (1678-1735) and Qianlong (1735-1796). This vase is a classic example of late production with an apocryphal Qianlong six character mark at the base.
Chinese Art Two porcelain parrotsChina, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1661-1722). . Cm 11,00 x 30,50. pair of polychrome porcelain perfumers in the shape of parrots perched on a rock. This type of artifact often shows a bright polychrome glazing known in the West with the generic term of "famille verte", an innovative combination of colors introduced massively in China during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1661-1722) and referred in China as Kangxi-wucai.The Chinese term wucai, literally "five colors", was introduced already in the Ming era to define all those artifacts in which the outlines of the figures, traced in underglaze cobalt blue, were combined with red, green and yellow and, occasionally, with other colors such as black or aubergine. The Wucai decoration had a great diffusion under the reign of Wanli (1572-1620), but it was only around the seventeenth century that the imperial ateliers of Jingdezhen developed a new type of chromatic combination based on these five colors, giving rise to artifacts quite different from the previous wucai production. The porcelain made according to these new standards, since then called Kangxi-wucai, immediately met with enormous success and constituted a significant part of the production for both the domestic and foreign markets.
Chinese Art Pair of chiild shaped headrests China, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 40,50 x 25,00. Funny pair of polychrome porcelain headrests in the “famille rose” palette and shaped as two kneeling children. This type of anthropomorphic headrest (often depicting children or adolescents) has always been extremely popular. The oldest examples date back to the Tang period (618-907), made of glazed terracotta. These two specimens, certainly produced in Jingdezhen, may date back to the last quarter of the 19th century and may have been created to be exported.
Chinese Art Monochrome Jilan censerChina, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), 16th century. . Cm 13,50 x 9,00. interesting “sacrificial blue” (Jilan) porcelain vessel, made on the model of ritual vessel destined for the Tiantan, the Temple of Heaven, inside which the emperor celebrated the propitiatory rites dedicated to the celestial father of the Emperor and of the nation itself. The complex Ming ceremonial, codified by Emperor Hongwu in 1379, provided that the impressive religious celebrations dedicated to the Earth, the Sky, the Sun and the Moon were officiated exclusively with monochromatic furnishings respectively in red, blue, yellow and white. colors deemed sacred and auspicious.
Chinese Art A group of eight porcelain tiles painted with erotic scenes China, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 25,00 x 18,00. Eight decorative porcelain plaques decorated in the “famille rose” palette, depicting erotic scenes with loving couples in their alcove. This amusing series of quadrangular-shaped plaques was probably meant to be hung inside the structure of large Chinese beds, which were built as proper small rooms, isolated from the rest of the house.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain meiping China, Qing dynasty, 19th century . . Cm 22,50 x 33,50. White porcelain vase elegantly decorated in underglaze blue with flowers and lotus within two bands, respectively decorated with stylized waves and petals. The meiping, literally "vase for the plum branch", is one of the most popular shape in the Chinese tradition. Historically, the flowered lotus spirals blue decoration against a white background reached its apex under the reign of Yongle (1402-1424) where it was often used to ornate meiping shaped vases. This vase is an example of this great Ming tradition which is a phenomenon occurred in China during the 18th century and later. The interest for the surviving Ming specimen was driven also to the random small imperfections in the precious blue pigment which was the result of a complex mixture of cobalt oxides of different origin. This recipe, governed by the emperor Yongle himself, was able to produce an unrepeatable shade of blue with violet hues and small darker spots due to the presence of iron oxide, the so-called "heaping and piling" effect, very evident in the porcelain of the Yuan period, but later replicated as a decorative effect. As a matter of fact, 18th century potters could not recreate this technique, which had been forgotten, thus simply imitate it whit dark and bright painted dots, as clearly visible in this vase.
Chinese Art A famille rose porcelain cachepot China, Qing dynasty, Tongzhi mark and period (1861-1875). . Cm 32,00 x 22,50. A white porcelain globular vase decorated with lobed reserves containing trees, flowers and rocks in the brilliant colors of the Yangcai palette, better known in the West as "famille rose" due to the presence of this pigment which was introduced in China not earlier than the 18th century by the Jesuits hosted at the court of Emperor Kangxi (1661-1722). This vase stands out for the excellent quality entrusted to the pleasant balance of shapes and the perfect execution of the ceramic body, thus it is an example of the high level maintained by the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen even in recent times. Six-character Tongzhi overglaze red mark on the base.
Chinese Art A blue and white pottery fish tank or dog bowl China, Qing dynasty, 18th century . . Cm 54,00 x 49,00. A large blue and white porcelain, cylindrical in shape, tapered towards the bottom and provided with a small brim. The exterior finely painted with "Shi" lions, clouds and flames, framed at the bottom by a leaf motif and at the top by two overlapping bands of different sizes, one with meandering "leiwen" and the other with "ruyi" ". Large “jardiniere” vases like this one were actually mainly conceived as indoor fish tanks, an accessory that is always present in the furnishings of a high social level. These type of tanks usually contained goldfish and were decorated with naturalistic motifs inspired by fauna and aquatic vegetation. Furthermore, their shape tended to be more flared and low compared to our specimen. The lack of internal decoration and the absence of references to the pulustre world suggests that this large vase, with its high walls could serve as an elegant "cage" for small dogs, deposited inside it for short periods, as illustrated in many paintings or drawings of the time. Completed with non coeval hongmu stand.
Chinese Art A blue and white porcelain vase painted with sprays China, Qing dynasty, late 18th century . . Cm 27,00 x 35,00. Jar vase, with short cylindrical neck, the exterior painted with underglaze chrysanthemums between sprays within two brown glazed bands (top and bottom) engraved with vegetal motifs. Chenghua four-character apocryphal mark painted on the base.The decoration with flowers freely arranged in an "airy" way on the surface pays homage to a typical pattern of the Chenghua period (1464-1487), considered to be one of the golden periods of Chinese fictile art.
South-Est Asian Art Zoomorphic incense holder Viet-Nam, Tran period (1225-1400) . . Cm 7,00 x 11,00. A votive incense holder, shaped as a tiger crouched on its hind legs and made porcelain with underglaze blue decoration.Objects of this type, connected to a vast folk production, were popular throughout the East and used to be produced in various kilns, such as the Chinese Chizou manufacture.
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