QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE SOLDIER VASES AND COVERS
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
Each elaborately enameled with a pair of large phoenix amidst a profusion of fantastic flowers blossoming in a terraced garden landscape with weathered blue rocks, all below \ a dense geometric arrangement of floral and cloud-head motifs at the waisted neck, the mouth with gilt and iron-red keyfret, the tall domed cover surmounted by a seated Buddhist lion finial enameled in blue and pale green. Together with modern giltwood bases (not those shown in the catalogue illustrations).
56 ¼ in. (142.8 cm.) high, each

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 6 April 1998, lot 161.

Brought to you by

Becky MacGuire

bmacguire@christies.com +1 212 636 2211

Lot Essay

Massive soldier vases - so difficult to pot and fire that in 1712 Père d'Entrecolles reported, "out of twenty-four eight only suceeded..." - were destined for the grandest houses in Europe. A pair identical to these is found in the Long Gallery at Osterley Park, likely those described by Sophie de la Roche in her 1786 diary entry about a visit to Osterley: "There are tremendous Japanese vases in there, also, large enough to conceal Carl [her younger brother]".

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