A fine and rare pair of famille-rose 'longevity' handled vases, Seal marks and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆　粉彩福壽連連䕫龍圖雙耳方瓶一對　《大清乾隆年製》款

Christie's Hong Kong, 8th October 1990, lot 526.

Peter Lai Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong.

Awash with vivacious scenes of scrolling flowers, formal borders and characterful dragons, these vases represent the very essence of Qianlong taste. Ascending the throne in 1735, the Qianlong Emperor is renowned for his passion for the arts, his celebration of Western styles like Rococo and his indefatigable desire for new palace furnishings. Blending classical motifs like the lotus and archaic dragon handles with fresh European-inspired scrollwork and an unprecedentedly vibrant pastel palette, this grand pair speak to the radical transnational vision of the Qianlong Emperor and his court. 

Beyond his taste for luxury, however, the Qianlong Emperor was also a devout Buddhist and devoted scholar and these interests too are manifest in the decoration of the present pair. From the bats at the vases’ necks, homophonous with the character for blessings (fu), to the gilt shou (longevity) characters, lotus flowers and lingzhi fungi, each also imbued with auspicious meanings, the present vase is a testament to the rich visual language of Chinese art and the Emperor’s devotion to exploring it. These vibrant and auspicious symbols also feature alongside floral scrolls on a small number of related vases of Qianlong mark and period without the addition of ruby dragons, including an elephant-handled vase most recently sold in these rooms, 8th April 2010, lot 1942; and a related pair with dragon handles, offered in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 438.

This combination of confronting dragons and auspicious floral designs is exceedingly rare and no other vases of this form and design appear to be recorded. Compare a related pair of turquoise-ground flower basins decorated with ruby dragons rendered as classical scrolls framing a floral motif, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Ciqi shang de longwen tezhan mulu / Special Exhibition of Dragon-Motif Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1983, cat. no. 93; a closely related turquoise-ground vase with bat-shaped handles and confronting dragons, sold twice in these rooms, 1st November 1994, lot 196 and 1st November 1999, lot 401; an imperially-inscribed blue-ground wall vase, dated in accordance with 1742, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2008, lot 2214; and a closely related unmarked jardinière and stand, painted with alternating pairs of blue and pink dragons, preserved in the Nanjing Museum and attributed to the Qianlong period in Xu Huping, ed., Treasures in Royalty. The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 261. 

This opulent design of dragons and scrollwork would also later be embraced in a rare but celebrated range of wares of Jiaqing mark and period (1796-1820), including a white-ground vase of comparable size and baluster form, sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1990, lot 418; and a white-ground handled yuhuchunping, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31st March 1992, lot 664. 

來源

香港佳士得1990年10月8日，編號526

黎氏古玩，香港

粉彩福壽連連䕫龍紋對瓶，滿綴纏枝花卉，以夔龍點題，間襯以回紋、如意雲頭紋、蓮瓣紋，富麗繽紛，展現乾隆品味之精髓。乾隆皇帝於1735年即位，熱衷藝術，鍾愛洛可可等西方藝術風格，亦用於妝點宮殿陳設。融合傳統中式紋樣如蓮紋、螭耳，與源自西洋的卷葉紋，粉彩色調鮮豔明麗，此對方瓶，華貴隆重，呈現乾隆帝與朝廷對於大清國力之展望。

藝術喜好之外，乾隆皇帝敬崇佛教，重詩書，且反映在本對粉彩方瓶。瓶頸綴蝙蝠，通「福」，描金「壽」字、蓮華、靈芝，皆滿載賀意，豐富的傳統藝術元素，揭示了帝王熱切的文化愛好。現存少數乾隆朝相類作例，可見纏枝花卉紋搭配此類吉慶紋飾，但無粉紅夔龍，如一件象耳尊，2010年4月8日售於香港蘇富比，編號1942；另一對螭耳尊，亦售於香港蘇富比2005年10月23日，編號438。

以兩兩相對之夔龍搭配纏枝花卉紋者，極為罕見，現知著錄無見他例。比較台北故宮博物院藏一對松石綠地纏枝花卉紋花盆，綴胭脂紅夔龍相對，環繞彩雲、蝙蝠與壽桃紋，錄於《瓷器上的龍紋特展圖錄》，台北，1983年，編號93；一件松石綠地蝠耳尊，同綴夔龍，曾二度售於香港蘇富比，1994年11月1日，編號196，與1999年11月1日，編號401；還有一例霽藍地轎瓶，題御題詩，紀年1742年，2008年10月8日售於香港蘇富比，編號2214。南京博物院藏一組花盆與托，無年款，綴粉紅、粉藍夔龍相間，斷為乾隆朝，載於徐湖平編，《宮廷珍藏：中國清代官窰瓷器》，上海，2003年，頁261。

此類福壽連連䕫龍紋飾，影響後朝甚深，如嘉慶朝一系列極負盛名的官窰瓷，數量甚稀，其一白地廣腹尊，與本對尺寸相近，1990年12月11日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號418；還有一件白地玉壺春瓶，售於香港佳士得1992年3月31日，編號664。