A fine blue and white 'lança character' stem cup

Qianlong seal mark and of the period

Qianlong seal mark and of the period
Vividly painted around the steep flaring sides with eight lança characters enclosed within undulating lotus stems issuing stylised blossoms and acanthus leaves, the underside with a frieze of tightly-bound lotus lappets, all raised on a tall spreading stem decorated with bands of half-flowerheads and floral sprays on a raised rib above pendent interlinked tassels issuing from ruyi-heads, the interior with a stylised peony medallion within a double-line border repeated at the rim, the interior of the foot with the six-character zhuanshu seal mark. 14.5cm (1 3/4in) diam.

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Provenance: a distinguished English institutional collection

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The present stem cup, inspired by Tibetan butter lamps or chang ming deng, is remarkable for the superb painting in lighter and darker tones of underglaze blue, simulating the 'heaped and piled' effect of the early Ming dynasty' imported cobalt blue. Also noteworthy is its unusual large size, measuring 14.5cm diam. and 13.5cm high, in comparison to the much smaller standard size of 8.5-10cm high.

The Qing emperors publicly supported Tibetan Buddhism which brought both political and to varying extents personal benefits, by ensuring solidarity with Mongolian and Tibetan allies and providing personal spiritual guidance. The Qianlong emperor was particularly dedicated to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and this is reflected in many ceramics and decorative arts produced for the court and as gifts during his reign.

Compare with a similar blue and white stem cup, Qianlong seal mark and period, of similar size, illustrated by U.Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan: Die Ohlmer'sche Sammlung im Roemer-Museum, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pl.59. See also a slightly smaller example, illustrated in Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Tokyo, 1981, pl.13. Such cups were also made for the Imperial court in other materials, such as cloisonné enamel and lacquer: see a cloisonné enamel stem cup, Qianlong mark and period, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl.280; and a carved cinnabar lacquer stem cup, Qianlong seal mark and period, in the Linden Museum, Stuttgart, illustrated in Im Zeichen Des Drachen von der Schönheit Chinesischer Lacke, Munich, 2006, pl.86.

See also a similar blue and white stem cup, Qianlong seal mark and of the period, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 May 2017, lot 118.