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Published:
1. Maurice Ader, Paris, France. Auction catalog, 26 November 1932, no. 150.
2. Cabinet-Portier, Paris, France. 100 ans, 1909-2009. Page 30, no. 117.
3. Marchant, London, United Kingdom. One Hundred Years, volume II, 2025. Page 491, no. 1991.
Expert’s note
It is rare to encounter a provenance that can be traced back almost a century. Rarer still is one documented with such remarkable continuity. The history of this lot also includes several distinguished names, among them Portier, Ader, and Marchant.
Of particular importance is the Ader sale of 1932, where the present vessel was sold as part of a pair. According to Stuart Marchant, its companion is today preserved in the Guanfu Museum. Founded by Ma Weidu, the museum houses one of China’s most notable private collections. Ma himself ranks among the most influential figures in modern Chinese collecting.
Within the wider corpus of late Ming gold-splash vessels, the present fang lei occupies an exceptional position. A separate and celebrated group follows archaic bronze prototypes, two smaller examples of which appear in the Auction Result Comparisons below. Leaving these archaistic vessels aside, the present fang lei must rank among the most imposing and technically ambitious vessels of its type. Its complex construction is matched by an extraordinary visual presence.
Another quality is perhaps less immediate, yet equally important. The surface appears to have remained essentially untouched. Gold-sheet vessels were often repeatedly cleaned over the centuries, gradually diminishing their original surfaces. The present example seems remarkably free from such intervention.
When left undisturbed, these surfaces acquire a distinctive and impossible-to-reproduce patina. Here, the gilt has developed a rich golden-brown tone, while the background has matured into a deep caramel brown. Over centuries, these contrasting surfaces have gradually merged into a remarkably harmonious whole. Equally characteristic is the soft, elegant luster, clearly visible in the photographs.
The future owner should preserve this surface accordingly. Dust should only be removed gently, using a perfectly clean optical microfiber cloth. Water, solvents, polishing agents, or other cleaning products should never be applied. In this way, the remarkable patina can remain as it has survived for centuries.
China, 17th century. The superbly cast vase of square section, rising from a spreading foot to a baluster body, the rounded shoulder surmounted by a short neck with everted rim fitted with a square domed cover topped by a bud finial. Lavishly decorated with irregular gilt splashes and finely decorated with elaborately cast and incised bands of archaistic design including taotie masks at the shoulder and confronted mythical beasts to the foot, neck, and cover, all divided by narrow flanges and reserved against leiwen grounds.
Inscriptions: To base cast with a four-character mark, ‘dan er bu yan’ (‘simple but desirable’).
Provenance: Maurice Ader, Paris, France, 26 November 1932, lot 150. A private collection in Paris, France, acquired from the above and thence by descent. Acquired by Marchant in June 2022 in Paris (see op. cit., p. 479). Marchant was founded in 1925 by Samuel Sydney Marchant (1897-1975). It held a large stock of Asian art, but also dealt in arms and armor, paintings, and continental porcelain. In 1953, Richard Marchant joined his father and from that time onwards the partnership specialized in Asian art. Nowadays the company’s focus is on Imperial Chinese Ming and Qing porcelains, jades, cloisonné, pottery, and works of art.
Condition: Excellent condition with minimal wear, casting irregularities, light warping, few minute losses to gilding.
Weight: 6.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 46.1 cm
With a matching wood stand finely carved with ruyi scrolls, dating from the Qing dynasty. (2)
The revival of ancient bronze forms, deeply rooted in Song-dynasty antiquarianism, acquired renewed force during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. To educated patrons, the ritual bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties embodied the authority and refinement of China’s classical past; seventeenth-century metalworkers accordingly turned to surviving antiquities and illustrated catalogues, not to produce exact replicas, but to create learned reinterpretations suited to contemporary taste. The present vessel transforms the ancient fang lei, retaining its tapering quadrangular body, animal-mask handles, pyramidal cover, and regimented bands of archaic ornament, while its attenuated silhouette and splashed gilding lend it the distinctive magnificence of late Ming and early Qing bronze production. For a Western Zhou bronze fang lei of closely related form, see an example in the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum, Shaanxi.
Literature comparison:
Compare a near-identical gilt-splashed bronze vase and cover with the same four-character mark, described by Stuart Marchant as “the absolute pair” to the present lot (see op. cit., p. 480), dated to the late Ming dynasty, in the Guanfu Museum.
The Guanfu Museum was founded in Beijing in 1996 by the renowned collector Ma Weidu and is considered the first registered private museum in China. Its important collection focuses on Chinese ceramics, Ming and Qing furniture, jade, lacquer, metalwork, and other works of art. Ma Weidu is regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Chinese private collecting.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 20 March 2012, lot 79
Price: USD 62,500 or approx. EUR 79,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt-splashed bronze vase (hu), Qing dynasty, 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related mark and gilt splashes as well as the related archaistic design. Note the different form.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3591
Price: HKD 600,000 or approx. EUR 90,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare gilt-splashed archaistic wine vessel, Jue, late Ming dynasty, 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the related archaistic design and closely related gilt splashes. Note the smaller size (22 cm) and different form.
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