Lot 185 A Chinese blue and white 'Playing Boys' square flask

A Chinese blue and white 'Playing Boys' square flask

Ming

未知

€ 5.000 – € 10.000

H: H. 15,5 cm, W. 6,4 cm, D. 6,6 cm

未知

Of square form with a short cylindrical neck, the body painted in underglaze cobalt blue on each of the four sides with a different scene of boys at play in a terraced garden landscape, variously engaged beneath flowering trees and amongst rockwork and bamboo. The gently sloping shoulders are decorated with four butterflies alternating with scrolling leafy sprays, below a pair of lotus blooms encircling the neck. The base is unglazed.
This unusual square bottle is probably based on a European prototype, deriving from Dutch glass and stoneware spirit bottles that were widely used aboard ships during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for transporting alcoholic beverages and lamp oil. Chinese potters adapted the form for the export market, producing porcelain examples that combined a distinctly European shape with traditional Chinese blue and white decoration.
此瓶作四方形，短直頸。器身四面分別以青花描繪不同的庭院嬰戲圖，童子們嬉戲於層臺庭園之中，穿行於花樹、山石與修竹之間，姿態各異。溜肩處繪四隻蝴蝶，與纏枝花葉相間排列，頸部下方環飾一對蓮花。底部露胎。
此件造型少見的方瓶可能取法歐洲器物，原型或為十七、十八世紀荷蘭船隻上廣泛使用的玻璃及炻器酒瓶，用於盛運酒類或燈油。中國窯工因應外銷市場需求，將其改製為瓷器，使鮮明的歐洲器形與中國傳統青花裝飾融為一體。
Provenance:
Christie's London, 8 November 2005, lot 17. (sold GBP 7.200,00) (link)
Luis Alegria, Porto.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2006, according to the owner's inventory notes.