A rare lac burgauté porcelain 'four arts' rouleau vase


18th centuryThe cylindrical vessel with high shoulders, single-ribbed neck and galleried rim, decorated on the body with a garden setting scene depicting an elegant gathering of scholars engaged in leisurely pursuits beside a pavilion and amidst bamboo, pawlonia and pine trees, between a band of undulating stem of blossoming lotus on the shoulders and stylised flower heads above the foot, the neck with further scholars gazing at a riverscape, the base with a medallion enclosing a blossoming peony, box. 49.5cm (19 2/8in) high (2).
|十八世紀 瓷胎黑漆嵌螺鈿棒槌瓶Provenance: A French private collection來源：法國私人收藏The elegant gathering decorating the present vase depicts 'The Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar', siyi 四藝, the four main academic and artistic accomplishments required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman, which included the stringed instrument qin 琴, the strategy game of qi 棋, calligraphy, shu 書 and painting hua 畫. Although the history of each individual element in this group can be traced back to early times, the earliest written source combining with four activities in a single group of the four together is the 'Compendium of Calligraphy', Fashu Yaolu by Zhang Yanyuan, dating to the Tang dynasty.As a seven-stringed zither which every scholar in Imperial China was expected to play, the qin was explored as both an art-form and a science as the literati sought to play it and create texts at the same time. The board game of weiqi 圍棋 was equally considered a pastime and an art form. According to a Chinese legend, the legendary emperor Yao invented the game of weiqi to enlighten his son and the game was mentioned in the 6th century BC by Confucius in his Analects. Similar to weiqi, Chinese calligraphy comprises a minimalist set of rules which convey at the same time a system of complexity and grandeur. This art-form was highly regarded as an expression of the practitioner's poetic nature and a significant test of manual dexterity. Finally, every scholar was expected to learn the art of brush painting, which was regarded as the greatest expression of individual creativity, through which a Chinese noble would demonstrate his mastery over the art of line.See a related porcelain and lac burgauté vase, Qianlong, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.79.2.101); and compare also a pair of porcelain and lac burgauté bottle vases, mid-18th century, in the British Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, London, illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, vol.2, 2016, nos.1409-1410. A related pair of lac burgauté vases, late 17th/ early 18th century, decorated with similar designs as the present lot, was sold at Christie's New York, 20 April 2007, lot 48.瓶洗口，直頸，斜肩，瓶身直如截筒，圈足。通體罩黑漆，並以螺鈿嵌飾，頸部嵌飾山水，肩部飾禪師花，腹部飾文人雅集圖，畫中兩組文人雅士齊聚石桌，分別對弈、題字、賞畫，小童行走於山林間、有攜琴者、端盤者、提壺者等，琴棋書畫四藝皆有所呈現，而古琴在文人心中則是高雅的代表，高山流水，意境優雅。瓷胎嵌螺鈿為康熙時期漆器鑲嵌工藝影響下產生的新品種，通常被稱為「軟螺鈿」。類似之例，見紐約大都會藝術博物館藏一件清乾隆黑漆嵌螺鈿瓶（博物館編號79.2.101）；另見倫敦白金漢宮英國皇家收藏一對十八世紀黑漆嵌螺鈿大瓶，著錄於J.Ayers，《Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen》，倫敦，卷二，2016年，編號1409-1410。紐約佳士得曾售出一對十七世紀晚期十八世紀早期瓷胎黑漆嵌螺鈿瓶，2007年4月20日，拍品48。