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Expert’s note
The present piece is near identical in form, material, and size to an example previously offered at Sotheby’s (see auction comparison below) and was likely executed by the same master goldsmith, intended as a pair or group. Its counterpart passed through the hands of emperors, queens, duchesses, and other high-ranking dignitaries, certainly a sign of its extraordinary historical and artistic importance. The distinctive silver mounts with their Renaissance features, appealing to Western collectors of the 16th century, add to its mysterious charm.
The bowl Jiajing period (1522-1566), the parcel-gilt silver mount English or continental Europe, circa 1580-1585.
The white porcelain bowl decorated in Akadama style with four large red medallions, set within silver mounts engraved with stylized foliage and secured by four pierced straps, each terminating in an applied grinning Bacchanal mask with curly hair.
The bowl raised on a baluster stem decorated with stiff leafage and three lion masks, each holding a silver ring in its mouth, alternating with scallop shells. The stem supported on a domed circular foot finely embossed and chased with strapwork enclosing alternating masks and arrangements of fruit.
Provenance: From an old private collection in Berlin, Germany, and thence by descent.
Condition: Superb condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, the mount with few soldering marks where the foot meets the cup, few tiny dents, and minuscule nicks.
Weight: 296 g
Dimensions: Height 13.2 cm
With an associated Japanese wood storage box. (2)
The red circular medallions decorating the bowl's exterior are characteristic of a group of porcelains produced at Jingdezhen during the second half of the 16th century. These wares were highly sought-after abroad, particularly in Japan, where this distinctive motif became known by the term akadama (red spot decoration). Examples from the same group are preserved in the decorative arts collections of many of the world's leading museums. A bowl of the same size (9.5 cm diameter), similarly decorated with four red medallions, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Nurdan Erbahar, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, London, vol. II, p. 824, pl. 1658, no. TKS 15/3034 (fig. 1). The presence of such a closely related bowl in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Turkey, supports the possibility that the present Chinese bowl likewise passed through Turkey before reaching Europe and being mounted.
From the time of Marco Polo (fig. 2) onwards, Chinese porcelain ranked among the most coveted objects at European courts. Before the establishment of direct maritime trade by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, Chinese porcelain reaching Europe was exceedingly rare. Although they did not understand the material’s precise composition, members of the European elite immediately recognized its remarkable qualities: a thin, luminous white body, inherent impermeability, and the brilliance of its enameled or molded decoration, whose motifs were entirely unfamiliar in Europe. Such wares were often mounted in precious metals by master artisans, further enhancing their value and prestige. The union of scarce Chinese porcelain and exquisite metal mounts produced objects of remarkable refinement, which were proudly displayed in the most distinguished Cabinets of Curiosities (fig. 3) and Wunderkammern, the private collections in which European princes preserved and celebrated their most treasured acquisitions.
A remarkable proportion of the Chinese porcelain vessels known to have reached Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries either retain European precious-metal mounts or are recorded as having once possessed them. Slightly later examples include a Ming porcelain cup and cover in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 68.141.125a, b (fig. 4), with London silver-gilt mounts attributed to Affabel Partridge, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s goldsmiths. A closely comparable mounted porcelain cup was presented to the queen (fig. 5) during the 1580s. See also the Lennard Cup, a Ming porcelain bowl with silver-gilt mounts and cover, the mounts bearing the maker’s mark FR, London, 1569, in the British Museum, registration no. PDF.695 (fig. 6). This is the earliest recorded example of Chinese porcelain with hallmarked English mounts. Another Chinese blue-and-white porcelain cup, dating to circa 1573–1585 and fitted with English silver-gilt mounts around 1585, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession no. LOAN:GILBERT.50-2008 (fig. 7).
The gilt silver mount adorning the present cup embodies the decorative vocabulary of the late Renaissance and Mannerism, evident in its intricate interplay of grotesques, lion masks, scallop shells, and Bacchanalian masks. Closely comparable examples are the two ‘Von Manderscheidt’ cups, one of which bears an inscription recording its journey from Turkey and its mounting in 1583 in honor of Count Hermann von Manderscheidt (fig. 8), while its companion is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number M.16-1970 (fig. 9).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 4 July 2018, lot 3
Mid-Estimate: GBP 250,000 or approx. EUR 395,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Ming dynasty bowl mounted in late 16th century parcel-gilt silver as a wine cup, the bowl Jiajing period, 1522-1566, the mounts unmarked, English or continental Europe, circa 1580-1585
Expert remark: Compare the near identical color, size, and decoration of the bowl, as well as the form and size (13.3 cm) of the metal mounts.
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