Lot 3676. A rare doucai'bajixiang' jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimate 1,200,000 — 1,800,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.
Notes: This extremely rare jarlet, brilliantly enamelled with a rare combination of doucai and famille-rose enamels, appears to have been inspired by Chenghua doucai covered jars, decorated with the bajixiang surmounting lotus blooms and framed within C-scrolls; for example see one published in Yuan’s and Ming’s Imperial Porcelain Unearthed from Jingdezhen/Jingdezhen chutu Yuan Ming guanyao taoci, Beijing, 1999, pl. 327. Another rare doucai jarlet of this form with similar Qianlong seal mark, complete with its cover and enamelled with phoenix, is illustrated in Liu Liang-yu, Ch'ing Official and Popular Wares. A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 5, Taipei, 1991, p. 182.
The Qianlong Emperor’s preference for auspicious and novel designs is evident in the imperial wares of this reign, which frequently combined elements of various traditional motifs and formal elements to form innovative designs. The present jarlet is an example of such originality, which presents the traditional bajixiang, ruyi bands and flower scrolls in an unconventional arrangement and unusual form..
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM