An exceptionally rare pair of Imperial famille rose 'quails and chrysanthemums' bowls


Yongzheng six-character marks and of the periodEach finely potted with a hemispherical body supported on a short tapered foot ring, the exterior superbly enameled with a pair of quail with finely articulated feathers, one standing on a stippled, verdant ground, the other on a mossy blue garden rock, in front of blooming chrysanthemum shrubs with tall flowering stems, the large pink blossoms flanking the quail, the other stems extending over the rim into the interior, and bearing further pink, puce and yellow blooms, the foot inscribed in underglaze-blue with the six-character mark within a double-circle, huanghuali stands. 3 3/4in (9.5cm) diam. (4).
|清雍正 御製粉彩安居樂業圖盌一對 《大清雍正年製》款Provenance:Virginia Hobart (1876-1958), thence by descentThe exquisite pair of 'quail' bowls, from the collection of Virginia "Ella" Hobart (1876-1958), and thence by descent, was acquired by Virginia Hobart in the early 20th century, possibly from Yamanaka & Co. Virginia Hobart became an heiress in 1892 when, with her two siblings, she inherited her father's fortune from timber and silver mining. In 1913-1914 Virginia and her husband Charles Baldwin traveled to China and Japan, returning in time to attend the Pan-Pacific exhibition in San Francisco in 1915. In her letter to her son, dated January 29, 1913, she writes with great enthusiasm of meeting the famed dealer Sadajiro Yamanaka in Kyoto and another Chinese porcelain dealer in Tokyo the day before. Following Charles's death in 1936, Virginia sold Claremont mansion in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was built after the style of Versailles, and relocated to San Francisco. The exceptionally rare pair of bowls epitomize the very finest Imperial porcelain of the Yongzheng reign renowned for its innovative design, unsurpassed elegance and exquisite artistry. They are particularly rare in two aspects: firstly, in the design incorporating chrysanthemums rather than prunus and nandina, therefore symbolizing Autumn rather than Spring; and in the continuous decoration over the rim and onto the interior, in a technique known as guoqiangzhi rather than retaining a plain undecorated interior.Quail designs appear in the Yongzheng period on several bowls and dishes, examples of which are extant in important museum collections. A famille rose bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark within a double circle and of the period, similarly decorated on the exterior with quail design but with prunus and nandina (symbolizing spring), with the interior undecorated, is illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol.2, Geneva, 1999, p. 114, no. 227 (A598); another such bowl, previously from the Mount Trust and the Meiyintang collections, was exhibited by the Oriental Ceramics Society in the Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, London, 1964, no. 209, and was later sold with Poly Beijing on 18 December 2017, lot 5030; a further bowl from the P. Lunden collection is published by J.P. van Goidsenhoven, La Ceramique Chinoise, Brussels, 1954, pl. XCII; a fourth bowl was included by Yamanaka & Co. in their catalog Grand Exhibition of Ancient Chinese and Corean Works of Art, Osaka, 1934, no. 350; and see also another such bowl illustrated in Handbook of the Mr and Mrs John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, New York, 1981, pl.82; another bowl from the Alfred and Ivy Clark collection was exhibited in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition catalog Enamelled Manchu Polychrome, 1951, no.176, and was later sold at Sotheby's, London, 25 March 1975, lot 138. See also a related Yongzheng bowl, enameled with quail on a riverbank, but with a pheasant on a rock and a poetic inscription, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, Taipei, 1992, pp. 74-75, no. 26.For related quail, prunus and nandina decorated dishes, Yongzheng six-character mark within a double square and of the period, see one from the Avery Brundage collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by H. Moss, By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 61. See also a pair of dishes from the Barbara Hutton collection, illustrated by R. P. Griffing Jr., Catalogue, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1956-1957, pl.XXIV, which was offered by Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2005. Much admired in China for their courage and fighting spirit, pairs of quail, shuang an, are a homophone for 'peace and prosperity'. Chrysanthemums ju, are among the earliest cultivated flowers in China. Blooming in the colder months, they symbolize fortitude as well as longevity, due to the belief in their medicinal properties said to extend one's life and are also associated with the autumn season. Combined with pairs of quail, chrysanthemums convey the doubly-propitious wish of 'May you live in peace'. Furthermore, drawing its inspiration from earlier periods, quail and chrysanthemums were a popular theme within the much celebrated 'bird-and-flower' painting genre of the Song dynasty; see for example the painting attributed to Li Anzhong (active 1119-1162), titled Ye ju qiu chun (Wild Chrysanthemums and Autumn Quail), in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by He Chuanxin, Dynastic Renaissance: Art and Culture of the Southern Song – Painting and Calligraphy, Taipei, 2010, p. 235, no. II-30. This genre was revived by the Yongzheng emperor and represented on Imperial porcelain under the direction of Tang Ying (1682-1756), the celebrated superintendent of the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. The elegant rendering of blossoming chrysanthemums, depicted in various stages of bloom on the present bowls, were very likely inspired by the celebrated paintings of Yun Shouping (1633-1690) and his unique manner of combining bold colors and washes to emphasize the distinct beauty of flowers; see for example Shan shui hua hui ce (Album of Mountains, Waters, Flowers and Grasses), in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Lu Chenglong, 'Yongzheng yuyao ciqi gaishu (A Brief Account of Yongzheng Period Imperial Porcelain)', in Gugong bowuyuan bashi huadan gu taoci guoji xueshu yantaohui lunwen ji, Beijing, 2007, p. 212, fig. 26.Similarly, the juxtaposition of light and dark hues decorating the chrysanthemum petals and the great realism devoted to outlining the veins of their leaves on the porcelain medium evoked a similar layering and rich volumetric effects as noted on the illustrious painting style of Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766); see Xian E Chang Chun Tu (Everlasting Verdure of the Immortal Calyx: An Album of Flower Studies), illustrated by Xiangping Li, Flower and Bird Painting in Ancient China, Singapore, 2007, p. 106. Compare also two famille rose dishes, Yongzheng marks and of the period, exhibiting a comparable treatment of blossoming chrysanthemums as seen on the present bowls, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, nos. 58 and 59. See also a related famille rose 'chrysanthemum' dish, Yongzheng mark and period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, November 30 2016, lot 3219. The extraordinary naturalism beautifully conveyed by the subjects depicted on these remarkable bowls would have been difficult to achieve without a new range of pastel tones, which were developed introduced by the Jesuit missionaries during the late Kangxi period, propelling the development of enameled wares to an unprecedented height reaching its peak during the Yongzheng reign. The blossoming chrysanthemum branches extend over the rim of each of the bowls continuing well into their interior. This technique, known as guoqiangzhi (branch passing over the wall), a homophone of the phrase 'Eternal Governance', appears to have first developed towards the end of the Ming dynasty and won Imperial favor at the court of the Qing emperors. A surviving record from the workshops of the Imperial Household Department, the Zaobanchu, relates to the Yongzheng emperor's interest in the 'long branch' design, mentioning that 'On the 19th day, 4th month, Yongzheng 9th year... His Majesty ordered glazed and unglazed porcelain decorated with the enameled design of the Everlasting Tranquility and Eternal Governance (...)'. The ingenious design – distinctive on the present pair of bowls and absent on the above mentioned examples of bowls decorated with quails and nandina – was challenging to accomplish. This was due to the convex surface of bowls and restricted working space, which would have required highly accomplished skills of a master craftsman. Impeccably executed on the present bowls this design allows for each side of the vessel to be viewed as a complete design in its own right.此對清雍正御製粉彩「安居樂業」圖碗為埃拉·弗吉尼亞·霍伯特（1876-1958）舊藏，最初可能來自山中商會，後由其家族後人繼承。弗吉尼亞是霍伯特家族重要繼承人之一，她的父親曾從事林業及金銀礦業。1892年，她和其他兩個兄妹繼承了父親大量遺產。1913至1914年間，弗吉尼亞與其丈夫查爾斯跨越太平洋奔赴至中國及日本遠遊，後於1915年返回舊金山參加泛太平洋博覽會。弗吉尼亞在一封1913年1月29日寫給兒子的書信中，特別描述了自己在京都與山中商會創始人山中定次郎見面的經歷。1936年弗吉尼亞的丈夫逝世後，她賣掉科羅拉多州的居所，移居舊金山。此對御製碗器形唯美、胎質細膩、圖案疏朗，為雍正朝御用瓷中不可多得的精美之作。而其罕有程度更可體現在兩個方面：其一，紋飾與常見冬去春來之南天竺和梅花不同，而以秋菊落葉為主題，加以一對鵪鶉，象徵「安居樂業」或「平安長壽」；其二，在繪畫上採用「過墻枝」技法，將菊花枝幹從碗外壁連續繪畫，延續至內壁及碗心，技藝高超，在同類品中非常少見。相比同類雍正朝以兩隻鵪鶉為主題繪畫的御用瓷，公私收藏中都有所見，如日內瓦鮑爾基金會收藏一例，同樣繪有類似鵪鶉主題的構圖，配飾為象徵春天的梅花和南天竺，底足雙圈內落青花｢大清雍正年製｣六字款，見《Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection》，第2冊，日內瓦，1999年，頁114， 圗錄編號 227 (A598)，玫筃堂舊藏一例（後售於北京保利，2017年12月18日，拍品5030），另見P. Lunden珍藏一例，出版於《La Ceramique Chinoise》，布魯塞爾，1954年，圖版XCII，山中商會曾經手一例，見 《Grand Exhibition of Ancient Chinese and Corean Works of Art》，大阪，1934年，圖錄號350，紐約洛克斐勒亦有收藏一例，見《Mr and Mrs John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection》，紐約，1981年，圖版82，另有Alfred 和 Ivy Clark收藏一例，曾在東方陶瓷學會展出並注錄於《Enamelled Manchu Polychrome》， 1951年， 圗錄號176，後售於蘇富比倫敦1975年3月25日，拍品138，另在台北故宮博物院收藏有雍正時期製作，繪有鵪鶉、錦雞和詩歌的一例，見《清宮中琺瑯彩瓷特展》，台北，1992年，頁74-75，圗錄號26。相關的雍正六字雙線方款「平安春信」碟，在舊金山亞洲藝術博物館有一例，為Avery Brundage舊藏，出版於《Imperial Command》，香港， 1976年，圗版 61。香港佳士得曾於2005年11月28日拍出一對Barbara Hutton舊藏「平安春信」碟。鵪鶉在中國傳統文化中有「平安」之象徵，而菊花有「長壽」之意，同時「菊」音同「居」，與前者合一，意在表達「安居」之主題，而地上亦刻意繪畫落葉，寓意「樂業」，因此有「安居樂業」之美好寓意。台北故宮博物院藏有一件宋代李安忠繪《野菊秋鵪圖》，見《紹興文藝──南宋藝術與文化特展》，台北，2010年，頁235，圗錄II-30，很可能是「安居樂業」圖的原型。至雍正朝時期，景德鎮御窯燒造處在唐英(1682-1756)的督導下，常見以「安居」為主題之作品，可見該題材在清代瓷器繪飾之流行。再觀碗上所繪之菊花，或含苞待放，或已婷婷綻放，色彩婉轉柔和。該裝飾風格極有可能受到惲壽平(1633-1690)沒骨繪畫風格的影響，相關作品可參考北京故宫博物院藏《山水花卉冊》，出版於《故宮博物院八十華誕古陶瓷國際學術研討會論文集》書中呂成龍撰「雍正御窯瓷器概述」一文之插圖，北京，2007年，頁212，圗26。細觀此對碗之紋飾用彩，以突破傳統的粉彩與琺瑯彩相結合方式繪就，其鵪鶉以赭墨彩描繪，用彩風格與台北故宮博物院藏清雍正琺瑯彩「平安春信」圖碗相近，同時又以粉彩繪過墻枝秋菊，避免了琺瑯彩太過鮮豔而影響菊花花瓣色階漸變的淡雅質感，最大程度迎合了雍正帝對優雅清新的藝術審美。觀其畫風，細膩寫實，亦或是受西洋宮廷畫師如郎世寧（1688-1766）的影響，可參照台北故宮博物院藏郎世寧作品《仙萼長春圖》。其他雍正時期繪有菊花的類似作品，可參見《The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration》, 香港, 1999年, 圖錄編號 58 和 59，另見香港佳士得所拍雍正菊花碟 ，2016年11月30日，拍品3219。該對碗更值得注意的是，裝飾在碗外壁的菊花枝葉向上生長，至碗沿處則自然延伸到碗內壁，這種獨特的技法被稱為「過墻枝」，取其寓意「長治」，最早在明代晚期的瓷器作品上可見，後得到清代帝王青睞。據清宮內府造辦處記載：「雍正九年四月十九日，上逾著將有釉無釉白磁器賞畫上久安長治......」，見馮先銘，《中國古陶瓷文獻集釋》，台北，2000年，頁222。就目前所見以鵪鶉為主題的作品，大部分紋飾為「平安春信」圖，且碗內壁均無繪飾，而霍伯特舊藏的這對碗完美地呈現了鵪鶉與秋菊的組合，其獨特的「安居樂業」紋飾目前未見有他例。