Lot 48 A Chinese blue and white 'Elegant Ladies in a Garden' square flask and cover

A Chinese blue and white 'Elegant Ladies in a Garden' square flask and cover

Kangxi

未知

€ 3.000 – € 6.000

H: H. 30,4 cm, W. 10,5 cm, D. 10,8 cm (incl. cover) | H: H. 29 cm (excl. cover)

未知

Of square form with straight sides and horizontal shoulders, the vase rises to a short neck with an everted mouth. Each of the four rectangular panels is painted in varying shades of underglaze cobalt blue with two elegant ladies admiring flowers. Dressed in long, flowing robes of differing patterns, they are variously shown holding a flowering branch or a fan, or bending forward to examine the blossoms. Their hair is arranged in high coiffures, and they stand on either side of a square table supporting a jardinière of flowers. The poses and details vary subtly on each side.
Below the figures, flowering plants emerge from jagged rockwork. Behind them is a fenced terrace, beyond which flowering branches and further rock formations create a richly layered garden setting. Each principal scene is framed by double blue lines, with small ruyi motifs at the corners.
The neck is encircled by a prunus-on-cracked-ice pattern interspersed with flowerheads and scrolling foliage, while the mouth rim is decorated with a herringbone border. The flattened shoulders are painted with three flowering sprays and a sprig of lingzhi. The base bears an underglaze cobalt blue yu (“jade”) mark within a small square glazed panel.
The original cover is similarly painted in varying shades of cobalt blue with two flowering sprays and surmounted by a blue circular knop. Its survival together with the vase is particularly rare.
瓶呈四方形，側面平直，平肩，上承短頸，口部外展。四面長方形開光內均以濃淡青花繪仕女賞花圖，每面各繪兩位仕女，身着紋飾各異的曳地長裙，或手持花枝、團扇，或俯首賞花。仕女髮髻高挽，分立於一張方几兩側，几上置插花盆景，各面人物姿態與細節略有變化。
人物下方繪花卉自嶙峋山石間生出，身後為圍欄環繞的平台，欄外花枝舒展，奇石錯落，營造出層次豐富的庭園景致。四面主景均以青花雙線為框，四角飾小型如意紋。
頸部環飾冰梅紋，間綴花卉及卷草紋，口沿飾人字紋。平肩分繪三組折枝花卉及一枝靈芝。底部中央方形施釉區內書青花「玉」字款。
原蓋以同樣濃淡相間的青花繪兩組折枝花卉，頂置青花圓鈕。瓶蓋與器身一同保存至今，較為難得。
Reference:
Sotheby's New York, 22 March 2023, lot 508 for a near-identical example. (sold USD 11.430,00) (link)
Provenance:
Luis Alegria, Porto, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above on 16 March 2017, accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scan)