87.
A ‘BLUE AND WHITE AND COPPER RED’ BALUSTER VASE
Qing dynasty, first half of the 18th century
41 cm high
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 3443.
The gently curved walls of the body rising to a large neck with flared mouth, the external surface with a dense ground of hexagonal cells, bands of ruyi heads and lozenges, the body with two big reserves with lobed profiles, one with a seated lion exhaling red air from a nostril, the other with a resting horse amidst rocks, the neck with four small floral compositions inside multi-lobed cartouches.
Kangxi was the first Chinese emperor to explicitly request porcelain decorated with cobalt blue and copper red enamels together, both painted under the transparent glaze, as testified by a group of wares commissioned in 1671-73 and destined to the Zhonghe Hall (S. Pierson, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London 2004, pp. 32-34, n. 653, for a dish in the Percival David Foundation, now in the British Museum, originally in that group).
This vase belongs to a group of pieces characterised not only by the combination of the blue and red enamels but also by the presence of intricate borders to enclose medallions with different kinds of decorations. See for example the vase with deer and pine trees from the Wang Xing Lou Collection (Imperial Perfection. Chinese Palace Porcelain of the Three Great Emperors, exhibition catalogue, Minneapolis 2004, n. 27).
Lion (shi) is not an indigenous animal in China, but it has been known since very ancient times, valued as a symbol of courage, strength and loyalty. As a decorative motif, it became part of the repertoire of artists and artisans after the introduction of Buddhism from India. According to this doctrine, in fact, the lion is considered a staunch defender of the Law, and stone sculptures depicting it are placed at the entrance of the temples.
The horse (ma) plays an important role in traditional Chinese culture. Since very ancient times, the aristocrats and the emperor himself sought the most valuable specimens, and in particular those coming from the Ferghana valley in Central Asia. In the artistic sphere, the horse is constantly present. In painting the representation of horses has become a specific genre which includes great artists such as Han Gan (706-783), Li Gonglin (1049-1106) and Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). The horse also often appears on Jingdezhen porcelain, captured in different attitudes.
