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Exhibition is first to offer a view of the various ideals of women in Indian painting

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Eine Frau bindet sich einen Turban, Albumblatt, Werkstatt am Mogulhof, 1760-1780 © Museum Rietberg Zürich, Geschenk der Ganesha-Stiftung

ZURICH.- Indian miniatures are like windows onto dreamlike, idealised worlds. The pictures have a broad spectrum of themes ranging from religious and mythological subjects through literary, poetic motifs to secular, courtly scenes. The exhibition at Museum Rietberg is the first to offer a view of the various ideals of women in Indian painting. 

Images of women play a key role in many genres of Indian painting. In keeping with the perfectly crafted forms of expression in Indian miniatures, the female figures in the works on display have the character of ideal, aesthetically flawless visions. Reflecting artistic standards, they go beyond the representation of real persons and should not be regarded as portraits of existing women like those who lived at court. Rather, the images depict multifaceted beauties reminiscent of the lyrical descriptions of classical Indian poets like Jayadeva and Kalidasa, who compared the female form to positively connoted elements of nature: faces as round as the full moon, a mouth like a lotus flower on the water’s surface and legs as elegant as an elephant’s trunk. 

L’image contient peut-être : 4 personnes

Eine Frau bindet sich einen Turban, Albumblatt, Werkstatt am Mogulhof, 1760-1780 © Museum Rietberg Zürich, Geschenk der Ganesha-Stiftung

The many faces of an ideal – stylised beauties 
At first glance, female figures in Indian painting have a strongly stylised appearance that is especially noticeable in the context of male depictions. Portrayals of male figures are more individual in appearance because of their nuanced and varied facial features, and more personalised because of their distinct clothing, which reveals the figures’ rank. However, this does not mean that the painters devoted less care and attention to their depictions of female figures. They went into painstaking detail in portraying their lavish jewellery, costly draperies, delicately woven fabrics, subtle makeup and elegant coiffures. Their gestures and poses too are precisely observed and thought-out, revealing a special visual language that was understood and highly prized by the educated art lovers at the courts of the Indian potentates. 

Along with aesthetic considerations, the portrayals of women also convey art historical information that provides crucial clues to the chronological placement of the largely undated and unsigned miniatures by anonymous artists. Style and aesthetics reveal the preferences of different times and places: In one region, heavy kajal eye makeup and finely drawn noses were popular, while strong eyebrows and prominent noses were favoured in another. Vividly coloured draperies alternate with precious, transparent fabrics and delicately woven patterns. In some regions, women dyed the entire palms of their hands and soles of their feet with henna, while in other places they applied this red dye only to their fingertips and toes. 

The conventions and habits of seeing that are revealed by the visual language, the draperies, and the many different ideals of beauty embody far more than mere elements of style and fashion. Their stereotypical appearance provides well-founded evidence of the artistic and elaborate ideals of the periods in which the pictures originated.  

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne

Prinzessin am Fenster, Albumblatt, Werkstatt am Mogulhof, vermutlich Kishangarh, Rajasthan, um 1740© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Ankauf mit Mitteln Rietberg-Kreis

THE EXHIBITION 
The exhibition in the historical setting of the Rieter park villa consists of six sections and features approximately sixty works from the museum’s holdings that illustrate the many ideals of women portrayed in Indian painting. The works date from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century and originate from various workshops from the foot of the Himalayas to the Deccan Plateau. 

The opening section explains the special features of the female portrayals. Miniatures showing women are placed in a direct dialogue with portrayals of masculinity. The differences in the way the two genders were portrayed are evident in the visual language, drapery, gestures and poses.  

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«Ihre Küche scheint von ihrer Schönheit erleuchtet», Folio 25 aus der ersten Guler Bihari Satsai-Serie, Meister der ersten Generation nach Nainsukh und Manaku von Guler, Guler, Pahari-Gebiet, um 1785© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Dauerleihgabe Sammlung Barbara und Eberhard Fischer 

The second section focuses on chronological and regional peculiarities. From the early works of the fifteenth century to the late ones of the nineteenth, the miniatures document the preferred styles of representation in different regions and periods.  

Poetry, aesthetics and emotion are key aspects of the idealised portrayals of femininity in the third section, which features representations of women that must be read and decoded with these concepts in mind.  

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Die Dämonin Shurpanakha klagt ihrem Bruder Khara ihr Leid, Folio aus dem Shangri-Ramayana (Stil IV), Werkstatt für den Hof von Bahu, Pahari-Gebiet, 1700–1710© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Legat 

In contrast to these miniatures, some of which are strongly biased towards aesthetic idealisation, Indian painting also brought forth a number of images that transcend convention and portray women in unexpected ways. In the fourth section, individuality breaks with the normative ideas of aesthetics and places personality in the spotlight.  

The fifth section is devoted to goddesses and demonesses who are of crucial importance in Indian religiosity. The contrast between the facets of ideal and fantastic images of women is particularly striking.  

The final exhibition section presents a group of trouvailles with unexpected scenes, the anecdotal commentaries to which will elicit smiles while simultaneously providing food for thought.

L’image contient peut-être : 2 personnes

Die Hirtenfrauen werden von Krishna bestohlen, Folio aus der ersten vertikalen Mankot Bhagavata Purana-Serie, Meister am Hof von Mankot, vermutlich mit Namen Meju, Mankot, Pahari-Gebiet, 1700-1725© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Ankauf mit Mitteln Frau Schulthess-Wartmann 

 

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Eine Dame lässt sich einen Dorn aus dem Fuss entfernen, Werkstatt in Mewar, Rajasthan, um 1750© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Geschenk Sammlung Horst Metzger

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Die Musikweise Velavala Ragaputra, Folio aus der Latifi Bilaspur Ragamala-Serie, Werkstatt in Bilaspur oder Chamba (?), Pahari-Gebiet, 1730–1740© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Geschenk Sammlung Horst Metzger 

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Die Musikweise Ragini Madhumadhavi, Folio aus einer Ragamala-Serie, Signiert und datiert von Jai Kishen, Malpura bei Jaipur, Rajasthan, 1756© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Geschenk Schweizerisch-Indische Gesellschaft  

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne, plante

Abhisarika nayika, Folio aus einer Rasikapriya-Serie, Werkstatt in Guler, Pahari-Gebiet, um 1760© Museum Rietberg Zürich, Sammlung Eva und Konrad Seitz 


In Her Majesty's Hands: Medals of Maria Theresa on view at the Kunsthistorisches Museum

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Your Majesty's Poster © KHM-Museumverband 

VIENNA.- The Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Coin Collection holds both the largest and by far the most important collection of coins minted under Maria Theresa; it is the best place, and now is the best time, to host an exhibition that presents the monarch’s life in medals to celebrate what would have been her 300th birthday. 

The exhibition focuses on the most important topoi in Maria Theresa’s private and public life. It presents her in the company of her large family, running the gamut of events from dynastic marriages to heart-breaking calamities. It showcases her role as a ruler forced to fight several wars for her inheritance and, together with her son and co-regent Joseph II, as a pioneering social reformer. The artefacts on show also illustrate the extent of Maria Theresa’s realm, which comprised many different ethnicities and cultures.  

L’image contient peut-être : plein air

Maria Theresia Bust, Matthäus Donner, Vienna, 1750. Bronze. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer, Inv.-Nr. KK 6142 © KHM-Museum Association

All these topoi are reflected in medals that emblematise historical events with the help of allegories. Maria Theresa was already widely glorified and celebrated during her lifetime, but the exhibition also documents how she was portrayed by her enemies. So-called satirical medals, which were passed around in private, turned Maria Theresa into an object of derision. 

The exhibition focuses too on the historical background of medal production to illustrate the requisite technical skills, expenditure and effort, introduce the most important protagonists, and document range, purview and media-value of Maria Theresa’s medals. 

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Maria Theresia as Duchess of Milan, Gnadenkette with medal, Jean Dassier, 1763. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer, Inv.-No. KK 992 © KHM-Museum Association

Miniature Memorials – Minted for Eternity 
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) became a legend during her lifetime, and few female rulers were depicted more frequently or diversely. Her many likenesses – among them portraits, engravings, medals and medallions – were designed to preserve her memory for posterity, turning her into an 18th century media-star. 

Medals played a central role in this propaganda effort controlled by the imperial court. Among the period’s foremost artistic mass media, medals were minted under the aegis of the court, and they continue to reflect the ruler’s political aims and the way she saw herself. Over three hundred different medals were produced during Maria Theresa’s reign to commemorate or celebrate either members of the imperial family or political events, both national and international. 
 

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Maria Theresia Medal on the Coronation of the "King" of Hungary, Matthäus Donner, Vienna, 1741. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1885bβ © KHM-Museum Association

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Maria Theresia Medal on the Coronation of the "King" of Hungary, Matthäus Donner, Vienna, 1741. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1885bβ © KHM-Museum Association

Medals functioned as a way to commemorate important events of her reign, and as they were minted in large numbers, the material is noted for its longevity and their handy format made it easy to disseminate them, they were regarded as a historical record that would last forever. Contemporaries called these miniature memorials show- or commemorative coins, and they evolved into much sought-after and frequently exchanged collectors’ pieces. The monarch presented them as signs of imperial favour, in recognition of the recipient’s merits or achievements, or to strengthen diplomatic ties, and the majority of the medals produced in Vienna were destined for the court – ending up in Her Majesty’s hands. 

Exhibition curators: Anna Fabiankowitsch and Heinz Winter.

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Maria Theresia and Franz Stephan Prunkmedaille on the fourfold secured succession, Anton Matthias Domanöck, Vienna, 1754. Silver. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 49bβ © KHM-Museum Association

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Maria Theresia and Franz Stephan Prunkmedaille on the fourfold secured succession, Anton Matthias Domanöck, Vienna, 1754. Silver. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 49bβ © KHM-Museum Association 

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Maria Theresia medal on the restoration of the court offices in Siebenbürgen, Franz Würth, Vienna, 1762. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1862bβ © KHM-Museum Association

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne

Maria Theresia medal on the restoration of the court offices in Siebenbürgen, Franz Würth, Vienna, 1762. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1862bβ © KHM-Museum Association 

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne

Maria Theresia Medal on the renewal of the University of Pavia, Johann Martin Krafft, Vienna, 1770. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1795bβ © KHM-Museum Association

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne, sourit

Maria Theresia Medal on the renewal of the University of Pavia, Johann Martin Krafft, Vienna, 1770. Gold. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 1795bβ © KHM-Museum Association 

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne

Maria Theresia Screw Medal, Matthäus Donner / Andreas Vestner. Silver, interior imagery made of paper. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 5955 / 1914B © KHM-Museum Association

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Maria Theresia Screw Medal, Matthäus Donner / Andreas Vestner. Silver, interior imagery made of paper. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 5955 / 1914B © KHM-Museum Association

 

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Maria Theresia Satirical Medal, Unknown Medalist, 1744. Buntmetall. Wien, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 128543 © KHM-Museum Association

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Maria Theresia Satirical Medal, Unknown Medalist, 1744. Buntmetall. Wien, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Münzkabinett, Inv.-No. 128543 © KHM-Museum Association

 

L’image contient peut-être : 1 personne, assis, table et intérieur

Curator Anna Fabiankowitsch during the preparations for the exhibition © Photo: Lukas Beck

L’image contient peut-être : une personne ou plus

Curator Anna Fabiankowitsch during the preparations for the exhibition © Photo: Lukas Beck

L’image contient peut-être : une personne ou plus

Preparations for the exhibition © Photo: Lukas Beck

Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing presents exhibition of works by Gerhard Richter

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Gerhard Richter, STRIP (921-2), 2011. Digital print on paper mounted between aluminium and perspex, 200 x 440 cm. © Gerhard Richter. © Fondation Louis Vuitton/Martin Argyroglo.

BEIJING.- On the occasion of its opening, the Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing is presenting an unprecedented exhibition dedicated to German artist Gerhard Richter. This presentation has been produced in the framework of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s “Hors-les-murs” program, showcasing previously unseen holdings of its collection at the Espaces Culturels Louis Vuitton in Tokyo, Munich, Venice and Beijing, thus carrying out the Fondation’s intent to mount international projects and make them accessible to a broader public. 

Since the early 1960s, Richter has created a paradoxical body of work that sits somewhere between figurative and abstract art. Classically trained as a painter, throughout his oeuvre Richter has maintained a lifelong fascination with the power of the image and painting’s long, uneasy relationship with photography. His early works depict enlarged black-and-white photographs, often from newspapers or his family albums, painted using only a range of greys. Richter blurs the depicted subjects, deviating from traditional figurative painting, in order to distinguish painting from photography. He believes that whilst either medium may claim to reflect or express reality truthfully, either ultimately suggests only a partial, or incomplete view of a subject; offering a far less objective meaning than originally assumed. Working alongside but never fully embracing the late 20th century art movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and Conceptualism, Richter has consistently absorbed many of their ideas whilst remaining sceptical of their grand artistic and philosophical ideologies. This is evidenced through the artist’s remarkably varied body of work, including photography-based portraits, landscape and still-life paintings, gestural and monochrome abstractions, and colour chart grid paintings, where themes of chance, realism and abstraction are prominent.  

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Gerhard Richter, 4900 Colours (901), 2007. Lacquer on Alu Dibond, 680 cm x 680 cm. © Gerhard Richter. 

In 2008, the National Art Museum of China presented for the first time the work of Richter with a series of paintings from 1963 to 2007. Today, the Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing invites the public to continue the discovery of this internationally recognized artist. Richter is an iconic artist of the Fondation Louis Vuitton Collection, which holds a number of his very significant works. A whole room was devoted to Richter’s work at the inauguration of the building in 2014. It was thus obvious to show a version never before exposed—Version VII—of Richter’s kaleidoscopic work, 4900 Colors (2007) in this new venue of Beijing. Composed of 196 panels, each consisting of 25 coloured squares that can be arranged in 11 core configurations, this work pursues the artist’s early investigation of colour field paintings which he began creating in 1966 by replicating, in large scale, industrial colour charts produced by paint manufacturers. It epitomizes Richter’s practice, and his constant quest to ultimately “desubjectivise” painting. In this regard, it seemed important to show a work emblematic of the artist’s oeuvre in painting, which is the privileged medium of Western tradition. 

Also part of the Fondation’s Collection, Strip (920-1), Strip (921-2) and Strip (921-5) (2011) are presented to further enhance the artist’s interest in the relationship between painting and photography, these works being in fact digital prints of augmented photographs taken of a previous squeegee painting created by the artist in 1990.  

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Gerhard Richter, Strip (920-1), 2011. Digital print on paper between aluminium and Perspex (Diasec), 160 cm x 300 cm. © Gerhard Richter. 

Gerhard Richter was born in Dresden, Germany in 1932. He now lives and works in Cologne. Classically trained as a painter, his vast oeuvre consists of a paradoxical body of work that sits somewhere between figurative and abstract art. Richter has represented his country at the Venice Biennale in 1972 and was included in (d)OCUMENTA, Kassel, in 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992 and 1997. Solo exhibitions of Richter’s work have been organized by major museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco (1989), Tate Gallery in London (1991), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid (1994), Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin (1997), Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin (2002), Museum of Modern Art in New York (2002), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. (2003), Kunst Museum in Bonn (2004), National Museum of China in Beijing (2008), and National Portrait Gallery in London (2009).

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Gerhard Richter, Strip (921-2), 2011. Digital print on paper between aluminium and Perspex (Diasec)2 parts, in total: 200 cm x 440 cm. © Gerhard Richter. 

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Gerhard Richter, Strip (921-5), 2011. Digital print on paper between aluminium and Perspex (Diasec)2 parts, in total: 200 cm x 440 cm. © Gerhard Richter. 

680 cm x 680 cm

A very rare flambé-glazed zun-form vase, Qianlong six-character incised seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

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A very rare flambé-glazed zun-form vase, Qianlong six-character incised seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 1621. A very rare flambé-glazed zun-form vase, Qianlong six-character incised seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 9 ½ in. (24 cm.) high. Estimate USD 200,000 - USD 300,000Price realised USD 221,000© Christie's Images Ltd 2016

Glazed in imitation of Jun wares, the zun-form vase has a compressed body raised on a spreading pedestal foot encircled by two bow-string bands repeated at the base of the widely flared trumpet-shaped neck. The exterior is covered with a mottled glaze of deep crushed strawberry-red color subtly streaked in purple, and in milky blue that falls from the mushroom-colored rim, while the interior is covered with a streaked, milky blue glaze. A mottled caramel-brown and grey-green wash of glaze covers the interior of the foot and the base. 

NoteThis rare vase, with its combination of glaze and shape, epitomizes the interest during the reigns of the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors in wares being produced that referenced earlier periods. The flambé glaze represents the 18th century interpretation of the Jun glazes of the Song period, and the shape is an interpretation of early bronze zun of late Shang and early Western Zhou date.

One other porcelain vase of similar, but not identical zun shape, with Yongzheng mark, in the Seikado Bunko, Tokyo, is illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Qing Dynasty, Tokyo, 1983, p. 201, pl. 281. (Fig. 1) Unlike the flambé glaze of the present vase, it is covered with a 'sky blue' glaze and has a dark brown dressing on the rim, imitating a different Song dynasty glaze, probably Guanyao. The shape of the vase, which is taller (34.5 cm.) than the present vase, and has a more bulbous body, is based on late Shang or Western Zhou dynasty bronze wine vessels (zun). The present vase, however, with its more compressed shape and somewhat angled shoulder is even closer in shape to the bronze prototypes, such as a zun in the British Museum (22 cm. high) illustrated by J. Rawson in Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, vol. IIB, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1990, p. 542, fig. 77.2. The present vase, and the Seikado Bunko vase, have both borrowed the decorative feature of double bow-string bands found on some of the bronze prototypes, but not the surface decoration, allowing the glaze and shape to be the main focus, which on the Seikado Bunko vase is accentuated by narrow flanges that project slightly on two sides of the body and foot.  

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zun-form vase, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735), Seikado Bunko, Tokyo.

Other early bronze vessel shapes were also combined with monochrome glazes during the 18th century, a number with flambéglazes, such as the Yongzheng hu-form vase with mock mask and ring handles illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art; Chinese Ceramics IV, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 32, and the Qianlong gu-form vase in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated ibid., Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, p. 201, 278, which, like the present vase, is decorated with a flambéglaze on the exterior and a milky blue glaze on the interior. This combination, as well as the mottled wash on the foot, is copied from Song dynasty Jun vessels, and can be seen on a number of the Jun vessels in the Qing Court Collection illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelains of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong 1996, pp. 16-38, which include zhadou(zun), flower pots, bulb bowls and washers. As with the present vase, the flared shape of the neck of a zhadou, no. 13, helps to emphasize the attractive contrast of the brighter glaze on the exterior and the paler glaze of the interior.

Christie'sFine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art part I, 17-18 March 2016, New York 

A magnificent fine celadon-glazed archaistic vase, hu, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period

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A magnificent fine celadon-glazed archaistic vase, hu, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3276. A magnificent fine celadon-glazed archaistic vase, hu, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 14 7/8 in. (38 cm.) high. Estimate On RequestPrice realised HKD 43,800,000© Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The vase is well potted in baluster form with an angular sloping shoulder rising to a broad waisted neck surmounted by a galleried rim. It is finely moulded and carved all around with five registers of archaistic scrollwork, the central frieze with an undulating band filled with formal ring and hook motifs, between bands of stylised dragons, and with lappet borders at the extreme ends. It is covered with an even glaze of soft sea-green tone. 

ProvenanceThe Matsushita family collection, Japan 

Inspired by the Past - An Archaistic Vase for the Qianlong Emperor
Rosemary ScottInternational Academic Director Asian Art

The Qianlong Emperor was perhaps the greatest of China's imperial antiquarians. For Qianlong the collecting of antiques was a passion and he has been described as having an 'omnivorous fondness' for collecting art. All three of the great Qing emperors - Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong - were ardent antiquarians, who collected and studied material from earlier dynasties. However, it was the Qianlong Emperor who was the most enthusiastic collector and who was unsurpassed in the number and range of items he added to the imperial collection. He collected not only early ceramics, but material in a wide range of other media, most notably bronzes. The Qianlong Emperor was inspired by the Northern Song Emperor Huizong (r. 1101-25), and commissioned the publication of illustrated catalogues of the imperial collections, including the Shiqu baoji (Shiqu catalogue of the imperial collections); Midian zhulin (Court collection of treasures), the Tianlu lin lang (Tianlu collection of masterpieces), and the Xiqing gujian (Xiqing mirror of antiquities). The latter, which was compiled in 1749, may well have provided models for porcelains in ancient bronze style, such as the current vase. 

This beautiful vase represents a particular style of archaism seen in porcelain vessels of the Qianlong period, when the interest of the emperor in archaic bronzes and other antiques inspired the potters at the imperial kilns to interpret the shapes and designs of early bronzes for application to fine porcelain vessels. The refined decoration on this vase displays a perfect melding of focussed technical development and informed archaistic influence in its perfectly controlled celadon glaze combined with shape and decoration based upon vessels from the height of China's Bronze Age. Both the basic form and the carefully modulated relief decoration on the vase have been inspired by Zhou dynasty bronzes of the 9th century BC. 

It is clear that the decoration and shape of the present vase was inspired by bronze vessels such as the Western Zhou, 9th century BC, bronze lei, in the Freer Gallery of Art illustrated by John A. Pope et al., Freer Chinese Bronzes, vol. 1, Washington DC, 1967, pl. 83. However, the potters did not feel constrained to slavishly follow the bronze proto-type and adapted the shape slightly to produce a harmonious form more suited to porcelain. On the porcelain vessel the shoulder handles of the original bronze were omitted and the neck lengthened in order to give the ceramic vase a more elegant profile. Crisply cast bands of decoration in a formal broad wave-pattern band, like that on the current vase, can also be seen on the large bronze Xiao Ke ding, in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Zhanlanmulu, Wuzhou, 2004, nos. 68-9; and on the Hu gui, also in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Chen Peifen in Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Shanghai Museum, London, 1995, pp. 74-5, no. 46. 

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L’image contient peut-être : intérieur

Ritual wine vessel (lei), Western Zhou dynasty, 9th century BCE. Bronze. H x W: 29.8 x 31.1 cm (11 3/4 x 12 1/4 in). Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.104 © 2017 Smithsonian Institution

The delicate pale celadon glaze, which complements the shape and decoration, has its origins in fine high-fired celadons of the Tang dynasty, but was ultimately the result of research and development by potters at the Qing imperial kilns. In the 18th century the Jingdezhen imperial kilns devoted considerable effort to the perfection of celadon glazes which could be applied to a white porcelain body. Although celadon-type glazes, coloured with small quantities of iron, were applied to porcelain bodies at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns in the early Ming period, the Kangxi potters perfected a particularly delicate version over a very white (low iron) porcelain body. The delicate celadon glaze was coloured using only about half the amount of iron found, for instance, in typical Longquan celadon glazes of the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties. The new celadon glaze for porcelain was further modified in the Yongzheng period to produce an even more finely textured and slightly bluer pale celadon glaze, and small adjustments continued to be made in the Qianlong reign. This range of delicate Qing dynasty celadon glazes has been much admired by Chinese connoisseurs, and individual glazes have been given names such as douqing (bean green) and dongqing (eastern green) in the Kangxi reign, dongqing (winter green) and fenqing (soft green) in the Yongzheng reign. In the Qianlong reign these fine celadon glazes were sometimes used on undecorated pieces - the perfection of the glaze enhancing the elegance of the form. However, celadon glazes were also applied to porcelain vessels with low relief surface decoration, which in the Qianlong reign tended to be quite formal and was often carved at slightly different levels, allowing a dichromatic effect to develop as the glaze pooled in the deeper recesses and was thinner on the higher elements of the design. The present vase is an excellent example of this effect. The technique allows the details of the elaborate, crisp decoration around the body to be highlighted by the delicate translucent glaze pooling in the deeper recesses to provide a contrast of colour tones, which not only creates a pleasing dichromatic effect, but also accentuates the dense, undulating, archaistic design. 

While in China this form could be used as a jar or as a vase, when the current vessel was in the Matsushita Family Collection in Japan it is likely that it was used during the tea ceremony as a container for flowers. Mr. Konosuke Matsushita (1894-1989), the founder of the Panasonic Corporation, was a connoisseur of the tea ceremony and built a significant collection of art related to it. Fine Chinese vessels, especially those inspired by the past, were greatly prized for use in the Japanese tea ceremony and this vase with its bronze-inspired shape and decoration, as well as its delicate celadon glaze would have fulfilled the aesthetic requirements for the tea ceremony very well. It is interesting to note that a similar vase was presented to the Japanese Imperial family in 1902 by the Qianlong emperor's great great grandson - see below. 

A small number of other Qianlong vases from international collections with this rare combination of shape and decoration have been published. One from the Baur Collection is illustrated by J. Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 290 [A379], and again in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, p. 111, pl. 121. Another, formerly in the T.Y. Chao Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 875. An example from the Gordon Collection was sold by Christie's New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1112, while another from the collection of Zai Zhen (1876-1948), a great great grandson of the Qianlong Emperor, who inherited the title Prince Qing in 1917 and who presented this vase to the Japanese Imperial family in 1902, was sold by Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3963. An example in the Chang Foundation, Taipei, is illustrated by J. Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 155; while another in The Wang Xing Lou Collection is illustrated in Imperial Perfection: The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi - Yongzheng - Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, p. 184, no. 68.

A very fine and rare carved celadon-glazed archaistic vase, Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795)

A very fine and rare carved celadon-glazed archaistic vase, Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795), 15 in. (38 cm.) high. Sold for HKD 6,223,750 at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 875© Christie's Images Ltd 2004

A magnificent celadon-glazed carved baluster vase Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

A magnificent celadon-glazed carved baluster vase, Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 15¼ in. (38.7 cm.) high, box. Sold for USD 7,922,500 at Christie's New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1112 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

A rare ru-type glazed pear-shaped vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

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A rare ru-type glazed pear-shaped vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795) 

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Lot 3277. A rare ru-type glazed pear-shaped vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 9 3/4 in. (24.7 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 2,200,000 - HKD 3,500,000Price realised HKD 3,520,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The well potted vase is covered with an even glaze of bluish-lavender tone. 

Provenance: Estate of John Kenny
Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 258.

Note: The present vase is very finely potted to an elegant and well-balanced form, covered with an attractively unctuous glaze simulating the revered bluish-grey glaze of Northern Song Ru wares. Compare to several Ru-type glazed vases of similar form, the first of a smaller size from the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 48; another smaller example exhibited in the City Museum of St. Louis from 1911 until 1943/44, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2002, lot 237; one larger example from the J. Pierpont Morgan Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 2004, lot 1055; and a smaller one from the Zhuyuetang Collection, illustrated in Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods. The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pl. 96. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

A large sacrificial-blue glazed bottle vase, tianqiupin, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period

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A large sacrificial-blue glazed bottle vase,tianqiupin, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3275. A large sacrificial-blue glazed bottle vase, tianqiupin, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 21 7/8 in. (55.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 2,200,000 - HKD 3,500,000Price realised HKD 3,160,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The vase is of globular form rising to a tall, slightly flared, columnar neck. It is applied overall with a thick, vibrant and deep blue glaze. The interior and base of the vase are applied with a transparent glaze, Japanese wood box. 

ProvenanceBudo Takashiro (1916-2008) acquired in Japan in the 1970s and thence by descent within the family.

Note: The present vase was in the collection of Mr. Budo Takashiro (1916-2008), who was a textile entrepreneur and a renowned Japanese collector of Impressionist, Western modern paintings, and Chinese works of art, and was mentioned in Aizo Benari, published by Naniwasha, 1965.

Compare to a similar example with this cobalt blue glaze included in the exhibition, The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1984, no. 85. Another example with a less globular body is in the Baur Collection, Geneva, illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Volume 15, Qing Dynasty, Tokyo, 1983, p. 199, no. 272. A third example is from the Nanjing Museum Collection, included in the exhibition, Qing Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1995, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 66. 

The rich cobalt blue seen on the current vase is sometimes referred to as 'sacrificial blue'. This name derives from the use of vessels bearing this coloured glaze during sacrifices at the Imperial Altar of Heaven in the Ming dynasty. However it has been noted that during the Qing dynasty these massive vases were made as part of decorative furnishings for the Palace. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

A copper-red glazed brush washer, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3297. A copper-red glazed brush washer, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 9 in. (22.9 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 937,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The rounded body of the washer is covered on the exterior with a deep red glaze with mottling, the interior and base covered with a transparent glaze.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall


A fine teadust-glazed vase, Qianlong incised six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3295. A fine teadust-glazed vase, Qianlong incised six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 1,120,000.© Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The sturdily potted vase is evenly covered with a lustrous olive-green glaze with yellow speckles, thinning to russet on the mouth rim. The foot ring is applied with a brown dressing, wood stand, Japanese wood box.

Provenance : A Japanese family collection, Kobe, acquired between 1910 and 1930 

Note : A similar vase with Qianlong mark in the Victoria and Albert Museum is illustrated by R. Kerr, Chinese Ceramics, Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty, 1644 - 1911, London, 1986, fig. 25.; and another is illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pp. 256-7, no. 936. Compare, also, the similar vase from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. James Breece III sold at Christie's New York, 18 September 2003, lot 342.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

 

A fine and rare pale celadon-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period

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Lot 3285. A fine and rare pale celadon-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period (1736-1795), 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price realised HKD 1,240,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The bowl of inverted bell shape is moulded with a double line on the exterior, supported on a short splayed foot, covered inside and out with an even pale greenish-white glaze, the base with a clear glaze, box. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

A Guan-type brush washer, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 3284. A Guan-type brush washer, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 220,000 - HKD 350,000. Price realised HKD 375,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The vessel is skilfully potted with a compressed body supported on a short tapered foot, applied overall with a pale Guan-type glaze of greyish-celadon tone suffused with faint crackles.

Note : Compare this brush washer with other 18th century scholar's objects also decorated with a Guan-type glaze, such as a brush washer and a brush rest in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Through the Prism of the Past: Antiquarian Trends in Chinese Art of the 16th to 18th Century, Taipei, 2003, nos. I-07 and I-09.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 26 November 2014, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Iznik Tile, Turkey, Second half of the 16th century

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Iznik Tile, Turkey, Second half of the 16th century, 22.6cm high, 19.9cm wide© Amir Mohtashemi Ltd.

This polychrome tile is painted with a large bole red, cobalt blue and green lotus blossom together with a green and red saz leaf, a small serrated leaf and half-flower heads with a large cobalt blue palmette border. The bottom left hand corner is decorated with cobalt blue, white and green scrolling clouds on a bole red ground.

The tile would have been a part of a larger composition. Two pairs of Iznik tiles in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, dated to circa 1550-1600, Accession Numbers 189:29-1881 and 189:30-1881, depict similar shades of green, bole red, and cobalt blue with split palmette decoration with saz leaves and large lotus blossoms.  

Provenance: Private UK Collection

Amir Mohtashemi Ltd. 69 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BG, United Kingdom

Qajar tile, Iran, 19th century

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L’image contient peut-être : 2 personnes

L’image contient peut-être : 2 personnes

Qajar tile, Iran, 19th century, 34.5cm high, 27cm wide© Amir Mohtashemi Ltd.

The Qajar tile with vivid colours and crisp outline depicting an equestrian figure riding on a white horse hawking. The background with various buildings, flowers and mountains in the distance.

Amir Mohtashemi Ltd. 69 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BG, United Kingdom

Iznik Tile, Turkey, Second half of the 16th century

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Iznik Tile, Turkey, Second half of the 16th century, 22.6cm high, 19.9cm wide© Amir Mohtashemi Ltd.

This polychrome tile is painted with a large bole red, cobalt blue and green lotus blossom together with a green and red saz leaf, a small serrated leaf and half-flower heads with a large cobalt blue palmette border. The bottom left hand corner is decorated with cobalt blue, white and green scrolling clouds on a bole red ground.

The tile would have been a part of a larger composition. Two pairs of Iznik tiles in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, dated to circa 1550-1600, Accession Numbers 189:29-1881 and 189:30-1881, depict similar shades of green, bole red, and cobalt blue with split palmette decoration with saz leaves and large lotus blossoms.  

Provenance: Private UK Collection

Amir Mohtashemi Ltd. 69 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BG, United Kingdom

Plat, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368), fours de Jun

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Plat, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368), fours de Jun. Grès porcelaineux à glaçure colorée. H: 3 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B006542N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM


Plat, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368), fours de Jun

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Plat, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368), fours de Jun. Grès porcelaineux à glaçure colorée. H: 3 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B006543N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

Bol, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368)

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Bol, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Grès porcelaineux à glaçure colorée. H: 5,9 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B016044N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

Bol monochrome, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368)

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Bol monochrome, 12e-13e siècle, dynastie Jin (1115-1234)-dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Grès porcelaineux à glaçure colorée. H: 6 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B016045N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

Bol monochrome, 13e siècle, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368)

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Bol monochrome, 13e siècle, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Céramique à glaçure colorée. H: 6 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B017221N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

Bol monochrome, 13e siècle, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368)

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Bol monochrome, 13e siècle, dynastie Yuan (1279-1368). Céramique à glaçure colorée. H: 7,2 cm. Taïwan, Taipei, Musée national du Palais, K1B017222N. Photo © National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image NPM

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