237.
A PAIR OF ‘FAMILLE ROSE’ ‘BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF GUO ZIYI’ VASES
Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period
36 cm high each
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. nn. 3910, 3918.
The scenes on the body of these two vases, with many figures rendering homage to a seated bearded man and his consort, describe the seventieth birthday of Guo Ziyi (697-781) a general and minister lived during the Tang dynasty who was able to quell the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763) and successfully conducting a military campaign to Tibet, consequently receiving the honorary title of Prince of Fenyang. He spent the last part of his long life surrounded by the member of his family and a multitude of children, thus becoming a symbol of a wish for long life and happiness. After his death he was deified as god of wealth. His loyalty became proverbial as a paradigm of the Confucian ideals, well known not only in China but also in Korea and Japan.
