Lot 27 A Chinese blue and white 'Cranes' flowerpot

A Chinese blue and white 'Cranes' flowerpot

Jiajing mark and of the period

未知

€ 20.000 – € 40.000

OH: H. 13,6 cm, Diam. 17,1 cm

未知

Sturdily potted of octofoil-lobed form, the gently fluted body painted in rich underglaze cobalt blue with eight vertical panels. Two panels depict the character shou (寿, longevity) above a crane, surrounded by flaming ruyi-heads. The remaining six panels each feature two cranes in different poses, surrounded by flaming ruyi-heads. The everted petal-shaped rim is encircled by eight stylised ruyi-head motifs. The base is pierced with an original central drainage hole and bears a six-character Jiajing reign mark, arranged in two columns on either side of the aperture.
The decorative programme reflects the Daoist interests of the Jiajing Emperor, whose reign witnessed the widespread use of auspicious imagery associated with longevity and immortality. Cranes, regarded as companions and mounts of immortals, are combined with ruyi motifs and the character shou, creating a visual rebus expressing wishes for longevity, the fulfilment of wishes, and enduring good fortune. The elegant fluted form and unusual placement of the reign mark around the drainage hole are characteristic features of imperial flowerpots produced for palace horticultural displays during the Jiajing period.
花盆胎體厚實，呈八瓣葵花式，器壁隨形起棱，以濃艷青花分繪八組豎向開光。其中兩面於仙鶴上方書 ‘壽’ 字，另外六面各繪姿態不同的雙鶴，皆環繞火焰如意雲頭紋。外撇花瓣形口沿環飾八組變形如意雲頭紋。底部中央開原裝排水孔，孔洞兩側分兩行書 ‘大明嘉靖年製’ 六字款。
整體紋飾反映嘉靖皇帝篤信道教、追求長生的時代風尚。仙鶴被視為仙人的伴侶及坐騎，象徵長壽與升仙，配以 ‘壽’ 字及火焰如意雲紋，寓意延年益壽、萬事如意、福澤綿長。八瓣起棱器形典雅別緻，紀年款圍繞排水孔書寫的方式亦較為少見，體現嘉靖時期宮廷陳設花盆的鮮明特色。
Reference:
Identical examples were sold by Sotheby's London, 6 July 1976, 'Catalogue of Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art', lot 157 and Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2008 (link). A related 'Dragon' jardinière with identical mark in the Qing Court Collection, see 'Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum', p. 122, no. 112. Another 'Dragon' jardinière was sold with Sotheby Parke Bernet, 'The Edward T. Chow Collection, Part One: Ming and Qing Porcelain', Hong Kong, 25 November 1980, lot 16. Another wucai 'Dragon' jardinière was included in the 1936 Tokyo National Museum exhibition of 'Chinese Arts of the Ming and Ch'ing Periods', no. 335.
Provenance:
Sotheby & Co. London, 2 March 1971, lot 164.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above on 8 October 2004 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scans)
Exhibited & published:
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their June 1998 exhibition of 'Two Hundred Years' and published in the accompanying catalogue, p. 19, no. 8.
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their November 2004 exhibition of 'Ming Blue and White: Jiajing - Chongzhen Including Datex Examples' and published in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 2-3, no. 2.