Vase

Polychrome. Vase: bottle shaped, handles on neck.
Clay: fine-grained, hard, pure white, very thin.
Glaze: high-fired, perfectly transparent.
Decoration: outside, except handles and foot, an even coat of opaque pink enamel on which are chrysanthemums, fruit, and butterflies in enamels of the “famille rose.”
On the foot, a four-character mark of the Yung-cheng period in overglaze gray-blue enamel.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty or early 20th century, Yongzheng reign mark, 1723-1735 or early 20th century
Medium
Porcelain with lead-silicate enamels over clear colorless glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x W: 12.2 x 7.5 cm (4 13/16 x 2 15/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1945.5
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
butterfly, China, Jingdezhen ware, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), rose
Provenance

From at least 1931
Charles Ernst Russell (1866-1960), London and Kingsford near Colchester, from at least 1931 [1]

C. T. Loo & Company, New York and Paris, purchased at the sale of Charles E. Russell's collection [2]

H. L. Hsieh, New York, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company [3]

From probably 1944 to 1945
C. T. Loo & Company, New York purchased back from Mr. Hsieh, probably in 1944 [4]

From 1945
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company, New York on January 19, 1945 [5]

Notes:

[1] See R. L. Hobson et al., Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections (London: Halton & Truscott Smith, 1931), p. 198, fig. 358. According to information provided by C. T. Loo, the vase was brought to England by Russell in the 1920s, see John A. Pope' curatorial remark, dated 1949, in object file.

[2] According to information provided by C. T. Loo to John A. Pope, see J. A. Pope's curatorial remark, 1949, in object file.

[3] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. NYL-44/562: "Porcelain bottle, eggshell, famille rose flowers decorations on a pink background. Ku Yueh Hsuan style," C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file.

[4] See Loo's stockcard cited above.

[5] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated January 19, 1945, copy in object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mr. H. L. Hsieh
Charles Ernst Russell
C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Description

Polychrome. Vase: bottle shaped, handles on neck.
Clay: fine-grained, hard, pure white, very thin.
Glaze: high-fired, perfectly transparent.
Decoration: outside, except handles and foot, an even coat of opaque pink enamel on which are chrysanthemums, fruit, and butterflies in enamels of the "famille rose."
On the foot, a four-character mark of the Yung-cheng period in overglaze gray-blue enamel.

Marking(s)

On the foot, a four character mark of the Yung-cheng period in overglaze, gray-blue enamel.

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 38.
  • Walter Karp. The Smithsonian Institution: An Establishment for the Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge Among Men. Washington. p. 115.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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