A RARE COPPER-RED MING-STYLE MOONFLASK QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD
the circular body set over a low, domed foot and rising to a waisted neck and garlic-shaped mouth, each of the narrow sides set with a small round boss at the widest point and a ruyi-form boss at the shoulder which originally supported a handle, the broad sides painted in vibrant underglaze red with a large roundel centered with a lotus scroll enclosed in a six-pointed star surrounded by a network of geometric panels enclosing further scrolling and floral motifs, additional lotus scrolls at the narrow sides and neck, cloud bands encircling the foot, the base countersunk
Height 7 in., 17.8 cm
Provenance:
The design of the present moonflask is based on Middle Eastern metal vessels of the same shape and motif, which were then translated into blue and white porcelain vessels under the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402-1424). Yongle blue and white flasks of this type are extremely rare, and only three have appeared at auction, the most recent being one from the Pilkington Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 17.
The form was revived under the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1796), when a small series of these flasks was produced in underglaze copper-red. Examples include a Qianlong seal mark and period one from the collection of C. P. Lin, exhibited in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1980, cat. no. 118, and again in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, London, 1992, cat. no. 171. See also a Qianlong seal mark and period example from the Baur Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV, London, 1974, no. A535; and one from the Malcolm Macdonald Collection illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. LXXXVI, fig. 1a.
Qianlong period copper-red moonflasks of this type sold at auction include a seal mark and period example formerly in the collections of Sir Harry Garner and Robert C. Bruce, but with the underglaze design highlighted in overglaze puce enamel, illustrated in ibid., pl. LXXXVI, fig. 1b, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 223; a second sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 370; and a third, from the collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, sold in the same rooms, 3rd October 2018, lot 113. See also two unmarked Qianlong period examples, both missing their handles: the first, sold in our London rooms, 17th December 1980, lot 642; the second, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22nd November 1984, lot 709.
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the circular body set over a low, domed foot and rising to a waisted neck and garlic-shaped mouth, each of the narrow sides set with a small round boss at the widest point and a ruyi-form boss at the shoulder which originally supported a handle, the broad sides painted in vibrant underglaze red with a large roundel centered with a lotus scroll enclosed in a six-pointed star surrounded by a network of geometric panels enclosing further scrolling and floral motifs, additional lotus scrolls at the narrow sides and neck, cloud bands encircling the foot, the base countersunk
Height 7 in., 17.8 cm
Provenance:
The design of the present moonflask is based on Middle Eastern metal vessels of the same shape and motif, which were then translated into blue and white porcelain vessels under the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402-1424). Yongle blue and white flasks of this type are extremely rare, and only three have appeared at auction, the most recent being one from the Pilkington Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 17.
The form was revived under the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1796), when a small series of these flasks was produced in underglaze copper-red. Examples include a Qianlong seal mark and period one from the collection of C. P. Lin, exhibited in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1980, cat. no. 118, and again in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, London, 1992, cat. no. 171. See also a Qianlong seal mark and period example from the Baur Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV, London, 1974, no. A535; and one from the Malcolm Macdonald Collection illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. LXXXVI, fig. 1a.
Qianlong period copper-red moonflasks of this type sold at auction include a seal mark and period example formerly in the collections of Sir Harry Garner and Robert C. Bruce, but with the underglaze design highlighted in overglaze puce enamel, illustrated in ibid., pl. LXXXVI, fig. 1b, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 223; a second sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 370; and a third, from the collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, sold in the same rooms, 3rd October 2018, lot 113. See also two unmarked Qianlong period examples, both missing their handles: the first, sold in our London rooms, 17th December 1980, lot 642; the second, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22nd November 1984, lot 709.
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