138.
A ‘FAMILLE VERTE’ ROULEAU BALUSTER VASE
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, early 18th century
46 cm high
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 3951.
The two largest reserves on the body of this vase depict respectively a leopard in a scenery with a pine tree, a fence, some rocks and stylized clouds, and a mythological beast standing on a large rock. It has the head similar to that of a dragon, the body of a lion with scales on its shoulder and flankers, a long tail ending with a fur and claws.
A similar animal, depicted in almost the same position, can be seen on volume 92 of the Sancai tuhui (“Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms”), the encyclopedia compiled by Wang Qi and his son Wang Siyi, originally published in 1609 and later reprinted many times. The brief text which accompanies the illustration describes the beast as a baize.
According to a well known legend, the baize – who was able to speak the human language – encountered the mythical Yellow Emperor to teach him about the thousands fabulous creatures living on the earth and how to overcome their attacks.
The leopard (bao) is an animal known for its ferocity and bravery. Respect to other felines, such as the tiger and the lion, it is rarely used as decoration on porcelain.
