A TURQUOISE-GROUND FAMILLE ROSE 'FIVE BOYS' VASE, QING DYNASTY, MID 18TH-19TH CENTURY China, Qianlong six-character seal mark in iron red at the base and possibly of the period (1736-1795). The vase is elaborately decorated with bats, eternal knots, peaches and multi-colored lotus sprays, set against a bright turquoise ground. Provenance: À La Pagode, Paris (label). Georg Weifert (1850-1937), acquired from the above. Thence by descent in the same family. Weifert was a Serbo-Austrian industrialist and the first governor of the Federal Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. During his lifetime he acquired a substantial art collection and was a frequent buyer of Chinese art in Paris between the wars. Many original purchase invoices from this period still exist, but not for the present lot. The vase with an old merchant paper label, probably Japanese, manually inscribed 'Qianlong', and another with a collector's number. The base bears an old paper label from 'A LA PAGODE, THE, PARIS, 46 RUE DES PETITS CHAMPS'. This merchant, founded in 1825, fully specialized in the trade of Japanese works of art in 1881. It is therefore very likely that this vase was in a Japanese collection already in the 19th century. Condition: Some wear and firing flaws. The head of the boy with the yellow coat has been reattached, his ruyi scepter and the tip of his hand are lost. Besides, the vase is in good condition. Weight: 2,220.5 g (without the base) Dimensions: Height 30.8 (the vase alone) and 36 cm (the vase with the base) The mouth is encircled by a key fret border and a band of classic scroll. The short foot is decorated with a lappet band and another key-fret border. The shoulder is molded with two young boys, one was once holding a ruyi scepter, now lost, and the other holding a gold ingot. Three further boys are depicted to one side, climbing onto the vase. The depiction of five boys on the present vase is particularly auspicious, as it signifies the saying wu zi deng ke, referring to the supreme achievement of one family whose five sons passed the civil service examination. The vase is also an auspicious symbol, as the word for vase, ping, contains the homophone for the word for peace, ping an. With a fitted hardwood base, dating to the late Qing to early Republic period. (2) Literature comparison: Several examples of famille rose vessels applied with figures from the Qianlong period are known, including a Qianlong underglaze-blue seal mark and period white ground famille rose vase molded with three boys from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 158, pl. 140. A turquoiseground famille rose vase decorated with colorful floral roundels and molded with seven boys from the collection of Mr. M. D. Ezekiel (d. 1927), with an iron-red Qianlong seal mark and of the period, is illustrated by Hobson in The Later Ceramic Wares of China, London, 1925, pl. LX, fig. 2. Auction result comparison: Compare with a closely related vase at Christies London in Inspired Themes: A Fine Selection of Chinese Works of Art, 10 May 2016, lot 78, sold for GBP £362,500. 松石綠釉粉彩五童瓶，清代，十八中期至十九世紀 中國，瓶底鐵紅釉乾隆六字款，可能為同一時期 (1736-1795)。瓶身纏枝花卉紋，飾中國，瓶底鐵紅釉乾隆六字款，可能為同一時期 (1736-1795)。瓶身纏枝花卉紋，飾有蝙蝠、吉祥結與纏枝蓮，松石綠底。 來源：Georg Weifert (1850-1937)收藏，同一家族保存至今 。Weifert曾爲塞爾維亞中央銀行大班以及塞爾維亞、克羅地亞與斯洛文尼亞聯邦銀行大班。在世時，他收集了很多藝術品，曾是戰時巴黎重要的中國藝術品買家。很多購買發票都還存在，但并不包括這件拍品。瓶子有原始標簽，可能爲日文，注有"乾隆"字樣，還有藏家編號。底座上還有標簽巴黎 'A LA PAGODE, THE, PARIS, 46 RUE DES PETITS CHAMPS'。此藝廊創立于1825，1881年專注於日本藝術品銷售。這件瓶子可能十九世紀就已經進入一個日本收藏裏。 品相：一些磨損和燒製瑕疵。著黃色衣服的兒童的頭部曾被粘黏過，他的如意手杖和手遺失。除此之外，瓶子品相良好。 重量：2220.5克 (不含底) 尺寸： 瓶高 30.8，總高36 厘米 拍賣歷史：一件極其相似的瓶子曾在2016年5月10日在倫敦佳士得以GBP £362.500成交。