A rare and important pair of cream-glazed vases, Yuan dynasty

拍品描述

(2) Height of the taller 43.8 cm, 17¼ in. Thrown to monumental proportions, softly enrobed in a subtly iridescent cream glaze, the present pair of vases represents a rare and important example of their type. Traditionally attributed to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1126) and the famous Ding Kilns of Hebei, these vessels were more likely produced in the city of Jingdezhen in the predecessors of the imperial kilns. Inspired in shape by archaic bronze vessels of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), these remarkable survivors encapsulate the enduring appreciation of Chinese literati for ancient timeless forms. Today, attested examples of this large size are exceedingly rare and almost never found in pairs. Four closely related examples, preserved in the Qing Court Collection, are now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession nos 故瓷012178; 故瓷004585; 故瓷014306; and 故瓷004584), and were recorded in the initial accession documents of the Museum as having come from the Ningshougong (Palace of Tranquil Longevity); the private residences of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795). Though each vase shares the overall form of the present pair (apart from one with the neck now reduced), each possesses a remarkable level of individuality in its height and and the quality of the moulded pushou (mythical beast mask) handles. Two of the four have handles moulded from a cast, while the handles of the other two, like the present pair, appears to have been modeled by hand, possessing a closely related sense of movement and vigour. Beyond Taipei, only a handful of other vases of this type appear to survive. Compare a closely related vase of this type with moulded pushou handles, preserved in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 故00145178), inscribed with the characters Yun Lu, likely in reference to the Yunlu Palace of Prince Ji Jian of Changsha, constructed in the 14th year of the Chenghua reign (1478), to which the vase likely belonged. For other surviving examples of this design, archaeological evidence and a comprehensive review of the form, see Zou Peishan 'Tan Guoli Gugong Bowuyuan cang yilei baici shoumian shuanghuanping', Gugong wenwu xuekan, no. 456, pp 36-47, where the author also illustrates an imperial portrait by Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766) which includes a vase of this design.

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