Lot 73 竹林七賢 | A rare Chinese blue and white 'Zhu Lin Qi Xian 竹林七賢' stem cup

竹林七賢 | A rare Chinese blue and white 'Zhu Lin Qi Xian 竹林七賢' stem cup

Jiajing/Wanli

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€ 15.000 – € 25.000

OH: H. 9,5 cm, Diam. 11,1 cm

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The stem cup is potted with flaring rounded sides rising to an everted rim, supported on a tall spreading foot. The exterior is painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a continuous scene of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, depicting scholars gathered in a bamboo garden, some seated around a weiqi board, and others holding fans and engaged in conversation, accompanied by young attendants. The scene is set among bamboo, rockwork, railings and clouds. The stem is decorated with flowering sprays, and the interior of the foot bears a six-character Da Ming Xuande nianzhi mark in underglaze cobalt blue within a double circle.
The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were a celebrated group of literati of the Wei-Jin period, commonly associated with scholarly reclusion, unrestrained spirit and cultivated refinement. On the present stem cup, the subject combines the ideal of the ancient literati gathering with the fluent and expressive brushwork of late Ming blue and white porcelain, creating a scene of quiet elegance and scholarly charm.
此高足碗敞口弧壁，口沿外撇，下承高足，足部外侈。外壁以青花通景繪《竹林七賢》圖，高士聚於竹林庭園之中，或圍坐弈棋，或執扇清談，旁有童子侍立，周圍點綴竹林、山石、欄杆及雲氣。高足外壁繪折枝花卉，足內青花雙圈內書 ‘大明宣德年製’ 六字款。
竹林七賢為魏晉時期著名文人群體，常象徵隱逸高潔、放達不羈及文人雅趣。此類以文人雅集為題的青花高足碗，將魏晉高士題材與明代晚期流暢灑脫的筆意相結合，清雅之中見文人意趣。
Provenance:
Luis Alegria, Porto.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2012, according to the owner's inventory notes.
Exhibited:
Included in the exhibition of 'Chinese blue and White porcelain, 14th to 19th centuries', by the Oriental Ceramic Society, 16 December 1953 – 23 January 1954, with an old label to the interior.