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Lot Essay
Fruit-form ceramic vessels have a long history in China dating back to the Tang Period, and remain popular in the Qing Dynasty. The form of a melon naturally lends itself very well to its transference into a porcelain jar, with its stem forming the finial of the cover. An interesting stylistic parallel can be drawn with the lifelike pyramid of trompe l’oeil persimmons on an offering stand offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2016, lot 105.
This lobed melon form is not only seen in Qianlong-period jars but also in teapots. See a pair of mark and period famille rose teapots sold at Bonhams London, 12 May 2011, lot 368, and a mark and period famille rose inscribed teapot sold at Christie’s London, 6 November 2012, lot 260), and in jade, see a white jade teapot sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3613.
Compare a pair of blue-ground quatrefoil jars and covers with Qianlong seal marks also written in gilt sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3628. For further porcelain examples inscribed with Qianlong gilt seal marks, see a faux-lacquer hat stand and a faux-cloisonne enamel censer in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng, and Ch’ienlung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, no. 112 and no. 145, respectively.
This lobed melon form is not only seen in Qianlong-period jars but also in teapots. See a pair of mark and period famille rose teapots sold at Bonhams London, 12 May 2011, lot 368, and a mark and period famille rose inscribed teapot sold at Christie’s London, 6 November 2012, lot 260), and in jade, see a white jade teapot sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3613.
Compare a pair of blue-ground quatrefoil jars and covers with Qianlong seal marks also written in gilt sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3628. For further porcelain examples inscribed with Qianlong gilt seal marks, see a faux-lacquer hat stand and a faux-cloisonne enamel censer in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng, and Ch’ienlung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, no. 112 and no. 145, respectively.