J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York
MenuPast Exhibition
Chinese Art: The Szekeres Collection
March 13-29, 2019
13.
A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN ‘SHOU’ CHARACTERS VASE
Kangxi Period (1662 – 1722)
of high-shouldered baluster form, decorated all over in inky underglaze-blue with a wide variety of different shou characters freely drawn in loose rows and continuing onto the galleried rim and around the spreading foot, the recessed base marked with a double ring.
Height 17 1⁄8 inches (43.5 cm)
The character shou (longevity) repeated approximately 740 times on this vase suggests it may have been commissioned as a birthday gift.
A very similar Kangxi blue and white porcelain ‘shou’ characters vase is illustrated in the catalogue of the Min Chiu Society exhibition organized by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1992, p. 264, no. 131.
Compare also the Kangxi vase of closely related form and decoration in the collection of the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in the catalogue of the special exhibition organized by the Art Gallery of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Qingci cuizhen: Qingdai Kang Yong Qian guanyao ciqi (Qing Imperial Porcelain of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns), Hong Kong, 1995, no. 13; the same vase is illustrated again by Xu (ed.), Gongting zhencang Zhongguo Qingdai guanyao ciqi (Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty), Shanghai, 2003, p. 104.
康熙 青花百壽觀音瓶 高 43.5 厘米
