AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF BLUE-GROUND GILT-DECORATED ‘MELON AND VINE’ DOUBLE GOURD-FORM VASES

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HKD 40 305 000
Auction dateClassic
30.11.2023 10:30UTC +08:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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ID 1070489
Lot 2715 | AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF BLUE-GROUND GILT-DECORATED ‘MELON AND VINE’ DOUBLE GOURD-FORM VASES
AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF BLUE-GROUND GILT-DECORATED ‘MELON AND VINE’ DOUBLE GOURD-FORM VASES

QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARKS IN IRON RED AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

11 3⁄8 in. (29 cm.) high





Provenance

Collection of J.M. Hu

Sold at Sotheby’s New York, Important Chinese Ceramics from the J.M. Hu Family Collection, 4 June 1985, lot 78



Literature

- Helen D. Ling and Edward T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1950, pl. 207

- Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 117 (one of the pair)

- Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1992, p. 361, no. 228 (one of the pair)

- Ming and Qing Polychrome Wares from the Collection of the Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1994, no. 16

- In Pursuit of Antiquities: 40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 298, no. 188

- The 1st World Chinese Collection Exhibition, Beijing, December 2010, p.88-89 (one of the pair)



Exhibited

- Hong Kong Museum of Art, Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 117 (one of the pair)

- Hong Kong Museum of Art, Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 9 June – 2 August 1992, no. 228 (one of the pair)

- Christie’s Shanghai, Ming and Qing Polychrome Wares from the Collection of the Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 23-25 April 1994, no. 16

- Hong Kong Museum of Art, In Pursuit of Antiquities: 40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong, 6 July-26 August 2001, p. 298, no. 188

- China Capital Museum, The 1st World Chinese Collection Exhibition, Beijing, 30 September 2010-9 January 2011, p.88-89 (one of the pair)



Further details

COLLECTOR’S NOTE:
This pair of vases came from the collection of the distinguished connoisseur J.M. Hu. Our collector whimsically recalls after acquiring this fabulous pair, they noticed an old medical prescription handwritten in traditional calligraphy hidden inside one of the vases. They tried to enlist Chinese traditional doctors to decipher the prescription, but eventually to no avail. To this date, he is still wondering whether the prescription came from the Palace, which would suggest the medical use of these vases, or could it simply be a medical slip left behind by the previous owner.
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