43.
A LARGE POLYCHROME ENAMELLED DOUBLE-GOURD VASE
Ming dynasty, late 16th century
58,5 high
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 4676.
The vase is in the form of a double-gourd. In Daoism the double-gourd is associated with the immortal Li Tieguai, and according to the myth the gourd has spirals of smoke ascending from it, denoting the immortal’s power to set his spirit free from his body; according to another version the gourd held medicine which he dispensed to the poor and needy. This form also represents heaven and earth. The Jiajing emperor is known to have been a fervent Daoist engaging in Daoist rituals in the hope of attaing immortality, and therefore Daoist representations in form and design were found favour during his reign.
The design around the square body are of four ladies and sixteen boys engaged in play and holding precious objects within a fenced garden amidst rockwork. The subject matter of boys symbolises the wish for continuity of the family. Whilst the representation of boys is not unique to the Jiajing period and can be seen on earlier wares during the fifteenth century, the subject matter was popular and perhaps this could be connected to the emperor’s concerns having lost six of his eight sons.
Compare with a similar decoration on a wucai jar, Jiajing mark and period, illustrated in Enlightening Elegance: Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming. The Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong 2012, pp. 262-264, n. 72.
The shoulders are decorated with lotus scrolls, symbolic of purity, below a band of ruyi-heads, representing the wish for long life. The neck is enamelled with Buddhist lions above waves; a lion represents the Buddha’s teachings. The upper gourd is further decorated with four quatrefoil cartouches with scholar-officials in interior settings.
