Two large famille verte baluster-shaped jars. China, Kangxi

The baluster-shaped large jars decorated in the famille verte palette have domed covers with a finial in the form of a bud and a short, wide, slightly tapered neck with everted round rim. The body of each vase is covered in rich translucent enamels: several shades of green, iron-red, bright blue, yellow, aubergine and black

Both jars are completely covered by three overlapping rows of interconnected petal-shaped panels decorated with a profusion of different flowers and blooming trees. Interspersed among them are mystical beasts such as the qilin, the phoenix, the dragon and the carp, alternate with tigers, deer, cranes and a variety of birds and insects. All these creatures inhabit the mythological realm of the Daoist immortal Xi Wangmu. Vases with such an intricate and elaborate decoration would be meant as a wish for a long life. On the shoulder, between the panels and the base of the neck, there is a frieze of trellises intertwined with butterflies and cartouches of lotus. The neck is decorated with chrysanthemum blossoms.

The depiction of panels each containing a different scene is a traditional decoration dating back the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It became widespread during the Kangxi period (1662-1722).

COUNTRY : China
PERIOD : kangxi (1662-1722)
MATERIAL : Porcelain
SIZE : 60 cm
REFERENCE : E622
PROVENANCE : From a private French collection
STATUT : sold
Related works :

Two similar jars of the same form with the same finial and a slightly different size are in the Dresden collection, formerly in the collection of Auguste the Strong, inventoried in 1721 (inventory number PO 3417 and PO 6308). Ten large lotus-shaped panels on these jars show river scenes with figures, architectures and animals. One of these jars is illustrated by Eva Strober in La Maladie de la Porcelaine[1].

Two similar smaller jars of the same shape are in the RA collection[2].

A slender vase of a different shape, but with a very similar decoration is the Jui Tang Collection[3].

[1] No. 26, pp. 66-67

[2]The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A collector’s Vision, Vol I, Jorg Welsh Books, 2011, no. 143, p. 326

[3] A Culture Revealed: Kangxi-Era Chinese Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, 2017, no. 70