Lot 78 A Chinese blue and white silver-mounted 'Scholars' tankard

A Chinese blue and white silver-mounted 'Scholars' tankard

Transitional period

未知

€ 2.500 – € 5.000

WH: H. 18 cm, W. 17,6 cm (incl. mount)

未知

The tankard is sturdily potted with a compressed pear-shaped body rising from a tall foot to a broad, slightly tapering neck, fitted with a loop handle. It is painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a continuous figural scene depicting two scholars in conversation within a garden setting beside a pavilion, framed by a willow tree and ornamental rocks. The neck is encircled by a broad band of scrolling floral motifs between double-line borders, above a further scroll border below the rim. The vessel is fitted with later Dutch silver mounts comprising a hinged domed cover with a shell-shaped thumbpiece. The cover is engraved with scrolling floral decoration that echoes the porcelain ornament beneath the rim.
The form derives directly from contemporary European tankards produced in wood, stoneware and metal, but examples such as the present one were made in Jingdezhen specifically for the Dutch export market during the Transitional period. Combining a distinctly European shape with Chinese porcelain and decoration, these tankards illustrate the close commercial relationship between China and the Dutch East India Company in the first half of the seventeenth century. The continuous narrative scene, replacing the compartmentalised decoration of earlier kraak wares, is characteristic of Transitional porcelain and reflects the increasing influence of Chinese literati painting on export ceramics.
杯胎體厚實，器身呈扁梨形，下承高足，上接寬直頸，頸部略向上收束，一側置環形柄。外壁以青花通景繪庭園高士圖，兩位文士於亭閣旁相對交談，四周伴以垂柳及嶙峋湖石。頸部於青花雙弦紋之間環飾寬幅纏枝花卉，近口沿處另飾卷草紋。
器口後配荷蘭銀質鑲件，包括鉸鏈式穹頂蓋及貝殼形拇指掀鈕。銀蓋鏨刻纏枝花卉，與瓷器近口處的裝飾相互呼應。
此類帶柄啤酒杯的造型直接取自當時歐洲以木材、炻器或金屬製作的酒器，而本品則為十七世紀上半葉景德鎮專供荷蘭市場燒製的外銷瓷。器物以歐洲造型結合中國瓷胎及青花紋飾，反映中國與荷蘭東印度公司之間密切的貿易往來。其通景人物故事圖取代早期克拉克瓷常見的分格式裝飾，是明清過渡期瓷器的典型特色，亦體現中國文人畫對外銷瓷裝飾日益深入的影響。
Reference:
A closely related example, described as a beer jug, is in the Groninger Museum, The Netherlands, object no. 1982.0002 (link) and object no. 1986.0416 for another example of similar shape. (link)
Literature:
C. Jörg, Oriental Art magazine, Vol. XLVIII, no. 5, 2002-03, 'Treasures of the Dutch Trade in Chinese Porcelain', p. 22, fig. 6.
Provenance:
Jorge Welsh Works of Art Lisbon/London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2006 during TEFAF Maastricht, according to the owner's inventory notes and accompanied by their documentation folder. (see added scans)
Exhibited and published:
Exhibited on loan at Kunsthal Sint-Pietersabdij, Ghent, Belgium for their exhibition of 'De Chinese Verleiding - Chinese Exportkunst van de 16e tot de 19e eeuw', 20 November 2009 - 25 April 2010, and published in the eponymous publication by Nicole De Bisschop, p. 42, no. 2.24. (see added scans)
Jorge Welsh Works of Art, Lisbon/London, published in 'Tankards and Mugs - Drinking from Chinese Export Porcelain', p. 61, fig. 7B.