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Lot Essay
This stunning pair of vases is elaborately painted in dazzling gilt enamels with two tones of gold, against a dark blue ground, creating a striking visual contrast. The exterior is densely decorated with melons and flowers on undulating vines, symbolic of an abundance of descendants; while the double-gourd shape alludes to immortality. The overall effect reflects the flamboyant and ostentatious taste prevalent during the dynamic reign of the Qianlong Emperor.
According to Qing dynasty palace archives, on the 30th day of 11th month of Qianlong 10th year (1745), the Qianlong Emperor decreed that:
‘A pair of gilt and blown-on blue double-gourd vases with scrolling flowers’ be handed to Hai Wang to be brought to Shengjing, the palace in Shenyang.
It is likely that the record refers to the current pair of double-gourd vases, indicating it was made very early on during the Qianlong reign.
The current pair is possibly unique, as no other identical piece appears to have been published to date. It is even more outstanding that it is preserved as a pair.
The current lot came from the distinguished collection of J.M. Hu, and was illustrated in the 1950 Zande Lou catalogue (fig. 1). J.M. Hu born in 1911 in Beijing, as the eldest son of the influential banker Hu Bijiang. J.M. Hu was given a rigorous education in the Chinese classics; supplemented by a Western-style education. He first encountered Chinese ceramics during his student years, and developed a lifetime passion for collecting Chinese art. He relocated to Hong Kong during wartime, and founded the prestigious collector’s club Min Chiu Society in 1960. J.M. Hu often spoke of the three necessary criteria in collecting: zhen (authenticity), jing (rarity and quality), and xin (condition). The collecting journey of J.M. Hu represents a lifetime’s dedication to connoisseurship and beauty, and he remains a celebrated figure amongst collectors of Chinese art.
Another type of gilt-decorated double-gourd vases, shorter in height and with a leaner body with handles on the shoulder, is more commonly seen. One such example is a blue-ground vase decorated with gilt lotus scrolls in the National Palace Museum Collection (20.8 cm. high), illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Enamelled Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Book II, Taipei, 1969, pl. 15 (fig. 2). Another vase of this shape, decorated with gilt lotus scrolls against a teadust-glazed background, formerly in the J.M. Hu Collection (20.6 cm.), was first sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2005, lot 1311 (fig. 3); and later again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3608, for HK$14,480,000.
According to Qing dynasty palace archives, on the 30th day of 11th month of Qianlong 10th year (1745), the Qianlong Emperor decreed that:
‘A pair of gilt and blown-on blue double-gourd vases with scrolling flowers’ be handed to Hai Wang to be brought to Shengjing, the palace in Shenyang.
It is likely that the record refers to the current pair of double-gourd vases, indicating it was made very early on during the Qianlong reign.
The current pair is possibly unique, as no other identical piece appears to have been published to date. It is even more outstanding that it is preserved as a pair.
The current lot came from the distinguished collection of J.M. Hu, and was illustrated in the 1950 Zande Lou catalogue (fig. 1). J.M. Hu born in 1911 in Beijing, as the eldest son of the influential banker Hu Bijiang. J.M. Hu was given a rigorous education in the Chinese classics; supplemented by a Western-style education. He first encountered Chinese ceramics during his student years, and developed a lifetime passion for collecting Chinese art. He relocated to Hong Kong during wartime, and founded the prestigious collector’s club Min Chiu Society in 1960. J.M. Hu often spoke of the three necessary criteria in collecting: zhen (authenticity), jing (rarity and quality), and xin (condition). The collecting journey of J.M. Hu represents a lifetime’s dedication to connoisseurship and beauty, and he remains a celebrated figure amongst collectors of Chinese art.
Another type of gilt-decorated double-gourd vases, shorter in height and with a leaner body with handles on the shoulder, is more commonly seen. One such example is a blue-ground vase decorated with gilt lotus scrolls in the National Palace Museum Collection (20.8 cm. high), illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Enamelled Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Book II, Taipei, 1969, pl. 15 (fig. 2). Another vase of this shape, decorated with gilt lotus scrolls against a teadust-glazed background, formerly in the J.M. Hu Collection (20.6 cm.), was first sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2005, lot 1311 (fig. 3); and later again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3608, for HK$14,480,000.