A RARE DOUCAI 'FIVE TREASURES' CUP Chenghua six-character mark, 18th...
The John E. Bodie OBE (1930-2023) Collection of Chinese Art 大英帝國官佐勳章獲勳人John E. Bodie(1930-2023)中國藝術品收藏
A RARE DOUCAI 'FIVE TREASURES' CUP
Chenghua six-character mark, 18th century
Finely potted in the Ming style with gently rounded sides, decorated around the exterior with five lotus sprays, each supporting a bowl containing an auspicious emblem, the base painted with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.
6.7cm (2 5/8in) diam.
十八世紀 鬥彩番蓮五寶杯
青花「大明成化年製」楷書款
Provenance: John E. Bodie OBE (1930-2023), London, collection no.11
來源： 大英帝國官佐勳章獲勳人John E. Bodie(1930-2023)，倫敦，藏品編號11
This exceptional doucai washer of refined workmanship is a rare example of Yongzheng doucai wares which were strongly influenced by early Ming porcelain designs and enamels of the Chenghua reign.
The vessel features a meticulously balanced design and expertly applied decoration. Here, the designs are finely painted within cobalt pencilled lines and adorned with subtle shades of enamels, creating a striking contrast against the brilliant lustre of the fine porcelain. The Yongzheng Emperor personally influenced the artistic direction of the Imperial kiln production, achieving together with the celebrated kiln supervisor Tang Ying an unsurpassed standard of quality, aesthetic subtlety and refinement by merging his admiration both of classic styles of the past and of contemporaneous innovation.
The present washer would have undergone two firings and is decorated on the exterior with a unique design depicting five lotuses, each supporting an offerings, known as the 'Five Treasures' Wuzheng Bao (五珍寶). This design was popular during the Chenghua reign, and was reinterpreted in the 18th century. The 'Five Treasures' did not seem to adhere to a fixed set, as evidenced by a few related examples of similarly-shaped cups dating to the 18th century found in museum collections and auction records. See, for example, a doucai shallow cup, 18th century, decorated with five offerings, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by M.Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1978, p.47, no.151; see also a related doucai shallow cup, Yongzheng, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3585. For a Chenghua mark and period doucai washer decorated with five offerings, see the example in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 2003, p.160-61, no.157-60.
Bid on this lot
The John E. Bodie OBE (1930-2023) Collection of Chinese Art 大英帝國官佐勳章獲勳人John E. Bodie(1930-2023)中國藝術品收藏
A RARE DOUCAI 'FIVE TREASURES' CUP
Chenghua six-character mark, 18th century
Finely potted in the Ming style with gently rounded sides, decorated around the exterior with five lotus sprays, each supporting a bowl containing an auspicious emblem, the base painted with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.
6.7cm (2 5/8in) diam.
十八世紀 鬥彩番蓮五寶杯
青花「大明成化年製」楷書款
Provenance: John E. Bodie OBE (1930-2023), London, collection no.11
來源： 大英帝國官佐勳章獲勳人John E. Bodie(1930-2023)，倫敦，藏品編號11
This exceptional doucai washer of refined workmanship is a rare example of Yongzheng doucai wares which were strongly influenced by early Ming porcelain designs and enamels of the Chenghua reign.
The vessel features a meticulously balanced design and expertly applied decoration. Here, the designs are finely painted within cobalt pencilled lines and adorned with subtle shades of enamels, creating a striking contrast against the brilliant lustre of the fine porcelain. The Yongzheng Emperor personally influenced the artistic direction of the Imperial kiln production, achieving together with the celebrated kiln supervisor Tang Ying an unsurpassed standard of quality, aesthetic subtlety and refinement by merging his admiration both of classic styles of the past and of contemporaneous innovation.
The present washer would have undergone two firings and is decorated on the exterior with a unique design depicting five lotuses, each supporting an offerings, known as the 'Five Treasures' Wuzheng Bao (五珍寶). This design was popular during the Chenghua reign, and was reinterpreted in the 18th century. The 'Five Treasures' did not seem to adhere to a fixed set, as evidenced by a few related examples of similarly-shaped cups dating to the 18th century found in museum collections and auction records. See, for example, a doucai shallow cup, 18th century, decorated with five offerings, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by M.Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1978, p.47, no.151; see also a related doucai shallow cup, Yongzheng, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3585. For a Chenghua mark and period doucai washer decorated with five offerings, see the example in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 2003, p.160-61, no.157-60.
