Lot 108 A Chinese blue and white wine pot and cover

A Chinese blue and white wine pot and cover

Wanli

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€ 3.000 – € 5.000

WH: H. 19,3 cm, W. 16,7 cm

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The globular body rising from a faceted foot to a broad mouth, set with a slender S-shaped spout and a square loop handle with rounded corners, the domed cover surmounted by a knop finial, painted in vibrant underglaze blue in the traditional kraak manner with dark outlines and shaded washes, the body divided into shaped panels enclosing figures in a garden landscape alternating with large flowering plants, the shoulder and cover with further decorative borders of geometric and scroll motifs.
While many kraak wine pots are decorated exclusively with floral motifs, the present example is distinguished by the inclusion of figures within the principal reserves. Such examples are comparatively uncommon and belong to a smaller group painted in the more traditional late Ming style, employing strong cobalt outlines filled with graduated washes of colour.
The original function of these vessels remains a subject of discussion. In China they were most likely intended for serving warmed rice wine, although they may also have been used for hot water in the preparation of powdered tea. Their purpose in Europe is less certain. Tea was only introduced to Europe in very limited quantities during the early seventeenth century and did not become widely consumed until much later. It is therefore possible that such vessels served a primarily decorative role in European interiors. Nevertheless, documentary evidence from the archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) records substantial imports of wine pots, suggesting that they were both appreciated and regularly traded throughout the seventeenth century.
此壺圓腹，下承多棱足，口部寬闊。一側置細長的S形曲流，另一側設方形環柄，四角圓轉。圓拱形蓋上置寶珠鈕。通體以鮮明青花繪飾，採用典型的克拉克瓷畫法，以濃筆勾勒輪廓，再以深淺不同的青料分水渲染。器腹分設如意形開光，園林人物與盛開花卉相間繪於其中，肩部及壺蓋另飾幾何紋與卷草紋邊飾。
克拉克式酒壺多以花卉為主要裝飾，此壺則在主開光內繪有人物，較為少見。此類器物數量不多，畫風更接近明末傳統青花瓷，以濃重鈷藍勾線，再填染濃淡有致的青花色階。
關於此類器物最初的用途，目前尚無定論。在中國，可能主要用於盛放溫熱的米酒，亦可能用來盛裝調製末茶所需的熱水。輸入歐洲後的用途則更難確定。十七世紀初，茶葉才開始少量傳入歐洲，直至較晚才廣泛流行，因此此類壺在當時的歐洲室內或主要作陳設之用。然而，荷蘭東印度公司的檔案記載曾大量輸入此類酒壺，可見其在十七世紀頗受歡迎，並長期作為外銷瓷商品輸往歐洲。
Reference:
Maura Rinaldi, 'Kraak Porcelain: A Moment in the History of Trade', pp. 182-184 for a further discussion and pl. 237 for an identical example.
J. Ayers, R. Krahl, 'Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul. Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains', vol. II, p. 757, no. 1401, for an identical example.
Provenance:
Jorge Welsh Works of Art, Lisbon/London.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2017.
Exhibited:
TEFAF Maastricht, Jorge Welsh Works of Art, 2017.