Rare et important vase en porcelaine monochrome bleue, tianqiuping, Chine, Dynastie Qing, Marque à six caractères en cachet et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Christie's Ltd 2014
La panse globulaire est terminée par un col tubulaire légèrement évasé. Il est entièrement recouvert d'une très belle glaçure d'un bleu profond, l'intérieur et la base émaillés crème. Cette dernière porte la marque à six caractères en cachet de l'Empereur Qianlong en bleu sous couverte ; petits éclats au col. Hauteur: 55,5 cm. (21 7/8 in.). Estimate €120,000 - €180,000 ($163,371 - $245,057). Price Realized €289,500 ($394,133)
Provenance: Private collection, France, acquired in the late 19th/early 20th century and since then in the family by descent
A RARE AND LARGE SACRIFICIAL BLUE GLOBULAR VASE, TIANQIUPING, CHINA, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
Notes: This beautiful tianqiuping has been given a particularly jewel-like sapphire blue glaze, which serves to emphasise the elegance of the form of the vessel. 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 colour glaze during sacrifices at the Imperial Altar of Heaven. In 1369, the first Ming dynasty Emperor Hongwu issued an edict declaring that the vessels used on the Imperial altars should henceforth be made of porcelain. Each altar was associated with a specific colour of porcelain, and in addition to blue being used on the Altar of Heaven, red was used on the Altar of the Sun, yellow on the Altar of Earth, and white on the Altar of the Moon. The potters at the Imperial kilns in the 18th century were highly skilled and the technology used to produce porcelains was highly developed.
A similar cobalt blue globular bottle vase, also dating from the Qianlong reign, was 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.
Christie's. ART D'ASIE, 11 June 2014, Paris - http://www.christies.com/