Lot 90 A rare Chinese blue and white 'Scholars Gathering' jug

A rare Chinese blue and white 'Scholars Gathering' jug

Ming

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€ 5.000 – € 8.000

WH: H. 22,6 cm, W. 15,4 cm

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Heavily potted with a bulbous body rising from a spreading foot to a tapering neck and broad everted rim, set with a curved handle. Painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a continuous figural landscape scene depicting four Chinese scholars. One scholar is seated beneath a willow tree beside a bundle of scrolls, while another, seated nearby, holds an open scroll. A third figure leans against rockwork observing the manuscript and holding a large flower, while a fourth attendant approaches carrying an object. The shoulder and neck are decorated with bands of stylised floral scrolls and tulip motifs, the latter reflecting Dutch taste. The handle is painted with stylised cloud motifs and floral scrolls.
This vessel belongs to the group of export wares known as schenk-kannen (wine or water jugs), a form derived from European metalwork and produced in considerable quantities for the Dutch market by the VOC. Their production became increasingly difficult following the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 and the subsequent political upheavals, resuming more fully after the establishment of Qing rule under the Kangxi Emperor. The popularity of these jugs in the Netherlands is evidenced by the numerous surviving examples fitted with later Dutch silver mounts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The decoration appears to represent part of a larger scholar’s gathering theme. A closely related scene is found on a Transitional blue and white vase in the Butler Collection, depicting two literati, one reading from a scroll to a companion seated beside a pile of scrolls. The similarity of the composition suggests that the present jug was decorated after a design circulating among Jingdezhen workshops during the late Ming period.
此壺胎體厚重，鼓腹，下承外撇高足，肩部收束為上窄下寬的長頸，口沿寬闊外撇，一側置曲柄。通體以青花繪山水人物通景，描繪四位文士雅集，一人坐於柳樹下，身旁放置成束書卷，另一人對坐展卷閱讀，第三人倚靠山石，手持碩大花枝，側身觀看卷中內容，另有一名侍者手捧器物走來。肩部及頸部環飾纏枝花卉與鬱金香紋，其中鬱金香紋迎合了當時荷蘭市場的審美趣味。曲柄則飾如意雲紋及纏枝花卉。
此器屬荷蘭語所稱的「schenkkan」外銷壺，主要用於盛酒或水。其造型源自歐洲金屬器，曾由荷蘭東印度公司大量訂製，專供荷蘭市場。1644年明朝覆亡後，受政局動盪影響，此類瓷器的生產及外銷一度受阻，至康熙年間清廷統治漸趨穩定後才逐步恢復。許多傳世實例在十八、十九世紀加裝荷蘭銀質配件，足見此類壺在當地長期深受喜愛。
器身人物紋飾應取材自規模更大的文士雅集圖。巴特勒收藏一件明清過渡期青花瓶上可見相近構圖，描繪一位文士手持書卷，向坐在成堆書卷旁的友人誦讀。兩者構圖頗為相似，說明本壺所用畫稿可能源自明末景德鎮瓷坊間流傳的同類范本。
Reference:
An example of similar shape with metal mounts is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, object number 17.61 (link). Another example of similar shape with metal mounts from the Hodroff Collection is illustrated in 'The Choice of the Private Trader', D. S. Howard, p. 208, no. 243.
Provenance:
Jorge Welsh Works of Art, London/Lisbon, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2017 and accompanied by a copy of their documentation folder. (see added scans)
Exhibited:
TEFAF Maastricht, Jorge Welsh Works of Art, 2017.