A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE ‘DRAGON’ JARDINIÈRE, QING DYNASTY
China, c. 1750-1850. The deep rounded sides tapering towards the base and surmounted by a broad everted rim. The exterior is finely painted in shades of cobalt blue depicting two confronted four-clawed dragons pursuing a flaming pearl amid swirling clouds above crashing waves, all between line borders and below a band of key-fret, the base left unglazed.


Provenance:
The J. M. Hu, Zande Lou Collection. Jenmou Hu (1911-1995) was arguably the most important collector of Chinese ceramics in the last century. In both his personal collection and in his bequests to cultural institutions, J. M. Hu stood as a model of the modern scholar-collector. The eldest son of the influential banker Hu Chun, he was raised in an elegant private residence amongst his many stepbrothers and stepsisters. In keeping with tradition, he was given a rigorous background in the Chinese classics, supplemented by a Western-style education. He first encountered Chinese ceramics during his student years, when he purchased a nineteenth-century brush washer for his desk. This initial foray into collecting would become emblematic of J. M. Hu’s poignant relationship with art: even amidst the upheavals of war and the evolution of his collection, the modest brush washer stayed with him until his death in 1995. Hu’s boyhood studies within the Chinese literati tradition greatly informed his philosophical approach to life and collecting; humble and erudite, he consistently affirmed that it was the visceral connection between a collector and his acquisitions that was of essential importance. True value, in J. M. Hu’s estimation, lay far beyond monetary worth. A noted traditionalist, he went to great lengths designing wooden stands and fitted boxes to preserve and display his Chinese treasures and delighted in sharing the collection with fellow connoisseurs. For J. M. Hu, collecting was a serious, scholarly pursuit not to be taken lightly. The joy of art came with a responsibility to honor both the artist and the object. Hu often spoke of the three necessary criteria in collecting: zhen (authenticity), jing (rarity and quality), and xin (condition). Yet it was an individual’s bond with a work of art, as evidenced in J. M. Hu’s beloved brush washer, that was of fundamental significance. In handling and examining his ceramics, Hu sought that indefinable delight that could come only from the beauty of artistry. In the tradition of Chinese literati who bestowed symbolic monikers upon their studios, libraries, and collections, the name of J. M. Hu’s studio, Zande Lou, referenced the influential Lanting Xu of the famed Jin dynasty calligrapher Wang Xizhi, a text that describes Zande as a person’s inner happiness. Although J. M. Hu intended the meaning of Zande to express this fleeting happiness, which he experienced as a collector when examining an object, the word has also come to be interpreted as the inherently transitory nature of collecting and possessing fine art. J. M. Hu’s collection of Chinese ceramics provided abundant opportunity for personal scholarship and historical investigation. As early as the 1940s, he longed for a welcoming social environment where like-minded collectors could share and discuss art and objects. Two decades later, he established the Min Chiu Society in Hong Kong alongside fellow collectors K.P. Chen and J.S. Lee. A noted cultural philanthropist, J. M. Hu gifted substantial groupings from his collection to the Shanghai Museum in 1950 and again in 1989. Many of these objects remain on view in the museum’s Zande Lou Gallery. To this day, J. M. Hu remains a celebrated figure amongst collectors of Chinese art.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear, traces of use and firing irregularities, including pitting, dark spots, and firing cracks, one to the base issuing a few fine and short hairlines. One shallow chip to the interior mouth rim, occasional light scratches.

Weight: 12.4 kg
Dimensions: Height 38 cm, Diameter 39.5 cm


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York 21 March 2018, lot 713
Price: USD 65,000 or approx.
EUR 72,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large blue and white ‘dragon’ jardiniere, Qing dynasty, 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form, cobalt blue decoration, and dragon motif. Note the larger size (61 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 15 May 2014, lot 63
Price: GBP 206,500 or approx.
EUR 357,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A massive blue and white ‘dragon’ fishbowl, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form, cobalt blue decoration, and dragon motif. Note the larger size (61 cm).




清代青花雙龍戲珠卷缸

中國，約 1750-1850年。侈口，鼓腹，平底，造型穩重規整。外壁以青花繪雲龍戲珠紋，雲龍張牙舞爪。胎骨堅致厚重，釉面滋潤，白釉泛青，青花色澤濃艷。頸部雷紋。缸底露胎。


來源：
胡惠春暫得樓收藏。胡惠春(1911-1995)，別名胡仁牧，可以說是上個世紀最重要的中國陶瓷收藏家之，是現代學者收藏家的典範。作為有影響力的銀行家胡筆江的長子，他在一所私人住宅中與眾多兄弟和姐妹一起長大。秉承傳統，他接受了嚴謹的中國經典背景，並輔以西式教育。他第一次接觸中國陶瓷是在他的學生時代，當時他為他的辦公桌買了一個十九世紀的筆洗。最初對收藏的嘗試成為胡惠春與藝術聯繫，即使戰爭動盪，他的筆洗一直陪伴著他直到 1995 年去世。傳統極大地影響了他對生活和收藏的哲學態度；他謙遜而博學，始終堅信收藏家與其收藏品之間的內在聯繫至關重要。 在胡惠春看來，藏品真正的價值遠遠超出其金錢價值。他是一位出名的傳統主義者，不遺餘力地設計木架和合適的盒子來保存和展示他的中國收藏，並樂於與其他鑑賞家分享這些收藏。對於胡惠春來說，收藏是一項嚴肅的學術追求，不容輕視。 藝術的樂趣伴隨著尊重藝術家和藏品的責任。胡惠春經常談到收藏的三個必要標準：真（真實性）、精（稀有性和質量）和心（條件）。然而，正如胡惠春鍾愛的筆洗所證明的那樣，個人與藝術品的聯繫具有根本意義。在處理和檢查他的陶瓷時，胡先生追求那種來自藝術之美的無法形容的愉悅。按照中國文人為書房、圖書館和藏品命名的傳統，互惠春為其收藏取名暫得樓，出自《蘭亭序》，指任何珍藏都不可能永遠擁有，足見胡氏心境之豁達。胡惠春的中國陶瓷收藏為個人學術研究和歷史調查提供了豐富的機會。早在二十世紀四十年代，他就渴望有一個溫馨的社交環境，志同道合的收藏家可以在這里分享和討論藝術和物品。二十年後，他與其他收藏家 K.P. 在香港成立了敏求學社。作為著名的文化慈善家，胡惠春於1950至1989年間，共捐了近360件瓷器予上海博物館，這些重要的瓷器藏品至今仍然開放予公眾參觀，為人津津樂道。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、使用痕跡和燒製不規則現象，包括凹坑、黑點和燒製裂紋，其中一根到底部出現一些細而短的冲線。口内邊緣有一處淺缺口，有輕微劃痕。

重量：12.4 公斤
尺寸：高 38 厘米, 直徑 39.5 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2018年3月21日，lot 713
價格：USD 65,000（相當於今日
EUR 72,000
）
描述：清十九世紀青花海水江崖趕珠雲龍紋大缸
專家評論：比較相近的外形、青花和龍紋主題。請注意尺寸較大 (61 釐米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2014年5月15日，lot 63
價格：GBP 206,500（相當於今日
EUR 357,000
）
描述：十八世紀青花龍紋缸
專家評論：比較相近的外形、青花和龍紋主題。請注意尺寸較大 (61 釐米)。