A PAIR OF GRISAILLE AND IRON-RED VASES DEPICTING ZHANG GUOLAO, REPUBLIC PERIOD
China, 1912-1949. Each made from rather thin biscuit and with a baluster body surmounted by a long slender neck centered by a bowstring and rising to a subtly flared mouth with everted rim. Finely painted to depict Zhang Guolao atop a mule with a young attendant carrying his gourd vessel before a bridge in a snowy landscape with blossoming prunus and craggy rockwork. The base with an iron-red four-character mark Hongxian nianzhi. (2)


Inscription:
To each vase, ‘Qilu guo xiaoqiao, du tan meihua shou’ ([I] sit on a donkey, cross the bridge, and I marvel at the beauty of the plum blossoms).


Provenance:
From a German private collection.

Condition:
Excellent condition with minor wear, minimal firing irregularities, and few light scratches.

Weight: 225.4 g and 204.3 g
Dimensions: Height 20.1 cm and 20 cm


Yuan Shikai was the first President of the Republic of China
and Emperor of the short-lived Empire of China (1915-1916), taking the era name Hongxian. In 1916, Guo Baochang, an antique dealer with a good relation to the court, was appointed to oversee Hongxian’s new imperial porcelain production. The intent from the outset was that the items produced were to be of excellent quality. The biscuit used was very thin, the enamels were sent from the Imperial Workshops and the mark used was a red seal reading Juren Tang zhi. The quality of items produced was reputed to be excellent. Unfortunately, during production, because of the very thin biscuit, many objects were damaged. The remaining few perfect pieces were given to the most favored officials and are exceedingly rare today.


Yuan Shikai stepped down as Emperor
on 22 March 1916 and resumed his presidency, dying shortly afterward in June 1916. After his death, production was halted and the kilns were destroyed, but the enamels were stolen by workers who then proceeded to copy the Juren Tang production, marking their pieces Hongxian nianzhi (also Hongxian Yu Chih or Hongxian Yuan Nian), mostly with Kaishu script. The first copies produced were apparently of extremely high quality, as they were still using the imperial biscuit and enamels, but quality fell as the quantity increased and, presumably, the imperial resources were depleted. One opinion has it that all Hongxian marked pieces are made after the actual period, and that the only possibly genuine mark of the Hongxian period is the Juren Tang if any. Still, from extant pieces it is clear the porcelain industry was much stimulated at this time and for decades to come, and that pieces of very high quality were made, some of which bear the Hongxian mark while others are marked Juren Tang.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1642
Price: USD 12,500 or approx.
EUR 15,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An iron-red and grisaille-decorated baluster vase, 20th century
Comparison: Note the size (32.9 cm).




民國一對張果老長頸瓶

中國，1912-1949年。薄胎，瓶口外撇，細長頸，頸部中央有一道弦紋，瓶身修長，圈足。瓶身描繪的是張果老騎於騾子上，年輕的侍從提著葫蘆，在一座雪景橋前，梅花盛開，岩石嶙峋。圈足內“洪憲年製”四字款。(2)


款識：
騎驢過小橋，獨談梅花瘦。


來源：
德國私人收藏。

品相：
狀況良好，輕微磨損、燒製缺陷和劃痕。

重量：分別為225.4 克與204.3克
尺寸：分別高 20.1 釐米與20 釐米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2011年9月15日，lot 1642
價格：USD 12,500（相當於今日
EUR 15,500
）
描述：二十世紀礬紅墨彩麻姑獻壽圖瓶
專家評論：請注意尺寸 (32.9 釐米)。