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Lot 3643
  • 3643

A LARGE CLOISONNE ENAMEL PEACH-SHAPED BASIN QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY |

Estimate
1,000,000 - 2,000,000 HKD
bidding is closed

Description

  • 55.7 cm, 21 7/8  in.
of peach-shaped with generous rounded sides and a lipped rim, supported on a base formed from gilt-bronze gnarled intertwined branches extended on one side forming the handle, brightly enamelled overall with bats in flight amidst multicoloured cloud scrolls, wan symbols and stylised shou characters, all reserved on a rich turquoise ground, the rim gilt

Provenance

Christie's Hong Kong, 28th May 2014, lot 3022.

Condition

There are minor areas of retouching to the enamels. There is general surface wear and some rubbing to the gilding. The feet have been reinforced and re-screwed to the body.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Superbly cast in the shape of a peach, this impressive basin is remarkable for its large size, colourful enamels and naturalistically cast handle which takes the form of a gnarled branch. Cloisonné vessels in the form of peaches are unusual and only a few examples are known; one with a slightly incurved rim was included in the exhibition Colourful, Elegant and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr Robert Chang’s Collection, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, 2007, cat. no. 122; another from the collections of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine and T.B. Kitson, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-1936, cat. no. 2019, was sold in our London rooms, 18th October 1960; and a third was sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 1998, lot 111. This piece was probably inspired by much smaller fruit-shaped vessels made for the scholar’s desk, which were popular throughout the early Qing dynasty. These are known in a variety of media, including porcelain; see a washer covered in a guan-type glaze, and with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Scholar’s Paraphernalia, Beijing, 2015, pl. 85, together with two Qianlong mark and period examples, pls 86 and 87, the first covered in a Jun-type glaze and the second in a Ru-type glaze.

The form and design of this basin brim with auspicious wishes, from the numerous bats (fu), which are homophonous with the word for blessings (fu), to the alternating swastikas (wan) and longevity (shou) characters, expressing the wish wanshou wujiang (may you have ten thousand longevities without boundary), and the colourful clouds (yun). The auspicious message is further strengthened by its shape that depicts a peach, one of China’s most auspicious fruit, symbolic of long life and harbinger of happiness.