A Falangcai porcelain vase with nature and birds, Qianlong (1736 - 1795).

The base has a Qianlong period mark of four characters 乾隆年製 "Qianlong nian zhi" inserted in a double square with rounded edges. The mark is made below the glaze. The two dots seen were made by the artists themselves who made the piece to center the seal, which was then covered by a glaze that disappeared over time.

The decoration is painted with glazes, over a uniform milky white glaze, in "falangcai" 琺瑯彩 glazing techniques, which translates as "foreign colors". It was introduced by the Jesuits in China. During the Qianlong period, the development of glaze pigments was more detailed and diverse, and the production process more delicate and unique. Glazes with more than a dozen colors were developed.

These types of porcelains include floral motifs, along with branches, birds and landscape elements accompanied by poetic inscriptions in black glaze with stamp marks in red. The painting design is traditional in style and is in conjunction with verses of poetry of the period. Similar examples are found in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei or in Beijing.

The poem written is as follows: 

素萼枝枝封蜜蜡

明珠颗颗迸珊瑚

Refers to the richness and beauty depicted on the landscape. It is accompanied by three seals.

The shape of the vase, called "Dan ping" 胆瓶, is elegant and refined in appearance. Objects with this silhouette were associated as spiritual objects and synonymous with purity. The neck is straight and slender with rounded shoulders and belly. In addition, it is similar in profile to a bottle and is named for the similarity of a gall bladder.

Height: 20,5 cm; Mouth diameter: 3,5 cm; Base diameter: 4,5 cm.

Notes:

Only on porcelains of this high quality it was customary for the potters at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen to make the porcelain, but for the decoration executed by the enameling workshops in the vicinity of the imperial dwellings in the Forbidden City. The scene is delicately executed using fine brushstrokes. Porcelain painting had a close proximity to that of the court, and artists, both Chinese and Western, painted in the enamel workshops.

Due to the passage of time and the use, the paint is partially worn on the neck part. These types of pieces are very rare and preserved in the most select collections in the world. The state of conservation of this piece is in very good condition with no breaks or restorations.

References:

Sotheby's Hong Kong, April 7, 2011, lot 15.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, October 23, 2005.

Provenance:

Private collection of the 西园寺 Saionji family, an important Japanese collection with a great family history of collecting. This collection began in the early 19th century or before, inherited between generations to the present day. Akihiro “Bin Hong” Saionji (西园寺彬弘) handed over the legal powers for the sale of this piece in a signed and sealed document, by which Darley Auctions can confirm its extraordinary provenance.

The Saionji (西园寺) Family

The Saionji family was the founder of the "bridge" between Japan and China which changed and improved the post-war situation between both nations, lasting through the Meiji era, the Taishō era, and the Shōwa era of Japan up to the present day. They created the Japanese trading company "Xuějiāng Táng" (雪江堂) after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Thanks to their close relationship with the Chinese government and people, they were granted exclusive China-Japan trade permission for art, steel, synthetic fibres, machinery and other products.

 Kinmochi Saionji (西园寺公望, 1849 - 1940)

Last extra-constitutional adviser to the Japanese emperor (元老), as well as prime minister. His grandfather Masamichi Takatsukasa (鹰司 政通) was the Emperor's Regent (官至关白), and his father Kin'ito Tokudaiji (德大寺公纯), Minister of the Interior.

Kinkazu Saionji (西园寺公一, 1906 - 1993)

Founder of the Japan-China Friendship Association (日中友好协会), the company "Xuějiāng Táng" (雪江堂) and the newspaper "Shìjiè Huàbào" (世界画报), where he exposed the massacre in Nanjing by Japanese militarists, as well as, among others, the secret manufacture of poison gas in northeast China. From the early 1920s to the 1950s, he devoted all his energies to the movement for world peace and friendship between China and Japan, serving as executive director of the Japan-China Friendship Association and, at the same time, as executive director of the Japan Peace Defence Committee. This image shows the event held by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (中国人民对外友好协会) on July 12, 1991; where he was nominated with the title of "People's Friendship Messenger" ( 人民友好使者).

Akihiro “Bin Hong” Saionji (西园寺彬弘)

Great-grandson of prince Kinmochi Saionji and son of politician Kinkazu Saionji. Akihiro Saionji and his brother published in 1973, Japan, the book "Guide to the experience of the Saionji brothers in China" (西园寺兄弟体验的中国指南) which caused a great social response and reinforced cultural exchange as well as mutual friendship between China and Japan. Later, he presided over the company "Xuějiāng Táng" (雪江堂), leaving pieces of the family collection in his property.

Note bidders:

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