Gorringe's Spring Fine Sale 14th March 2023

118
117
Lot 118
A Chinese enamelled porcelain hexagonal
jardiniere, Qianlong period (1736-95), the upper
section with archaistic scrollwork panels on a cellular
flowerhead ground, within cellular lavender ground borders
decorated with flowers, the apron stand moulded and
enamelled in blue with archaistic scrollwork, on six ruyi head
shaped feet, remnants of ink inscription to base, 17.5cm high,
23.5cm wide
£400 - 600
Lot 119
119
A Chinese Imperial blue glazed ritual offering vessel and cover, gui,
moulded Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-95), modelled
on a bronze grain receptacle of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, of oblong form, moulded
in low relief with bands of archaic motifs, flanked by a pair of elephant-head loop
handles, the cover with a more vivid blue glaze moulded with an archaistic chilong
amid clouds, with four butterfly wing-shaped finials which act as supports when
upturned, relief moulded zhuanshu script seal marks to the underside of the vessel
and the cover ‘Da Qing Qianlong Nianzhi’, 28.5cm wide, one finial broken.
115
This gui would have been part of an altar set used in state rituals held in the first lunar
month of the year, during which the emperor made offerings to heaven at the Altar
for Bountiful Harvest (Qigutan), part of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and would
have comprised also a pair of dou, fu and xing-shaped vessels. Similarly composed sets
with archaistic designs would have been made in claire de lune, yellow and red glazes
for ritual use in the Altars of the Moon, Earth and Sun, respectively. For a related set
of the Qianlong period but in clair-de-lune glaze from the Palace Museum, Beijing, see
E.S. Rawski and J. Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005,
pp.125 and 396-397, pls.34-37, where it is noted that the archaistic shape of these
sets was not designed until 1748, when the Qianlong emperor ordered the Grand
Secretaries to consult classical texts when designing objects, and insisted that he
approve their designs before manufacturing could begin. The objects were illustrated
and described in The Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the
Qing Dynasty (Huangchao liqi tushi). Compare an identical vessel with cover in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1925, Accession Number: 25.143.1.
£2,000 - 3,000