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China, 1736-1795. Finely modeled as two conjoined peaches of unequal size, each of plump rounded form with a flat back, brightly enameled with leafy lotus sprays against a subtly graduated ground shifting from pistachio green through white and pink to deep red, and further embellished with gilt poetic inscriptions in cursive script. The flat gilt-copper back is pierced with two rectangular apertures for suspension.
Inscriptions: The front inscribed ‘Yuzhi’ and ‘Chen Wang Jihua’, with one seal ‘Chen Hua’.
御製
作記徵彭澤，屏林華且滋。惟茲真上瑞，額手祝屢綏。
臣王際華 恭集敬書
臣華
‘Yuzhi
Zuo ji zheng Pengze, ping lin hua qie zi. Wei zi zhen shang rui, e shou zhu lu sui.
Chen Wang Jihua gong ji jing shu
Chen Hua’
Imperial manufacture
In writing this piece, I have invoked the allusion of Tao Yuanming of Pengze. Before me, the grove, like a verdant screen flourishes in beauty and abundance. Truly, this is an auspicious omen of the highest order. I lift my hands in reverence and offer my prayers for peace and prosperity, year upon year.
Your servant Wang Jihua, respectfully assembled and reverently inscribed
Your servant Hua
Expert’s note:
The four lines of poetry inscribed on the peaches are all drawn from imperial compositions by the Qianlong Emperor himself. The first derives from ‘Visiting Mount Yiwulü in Late Autumn, Composing a Thirty-Rhyme Pentasyllabic Poem’ (Miao qiu you Yiwu Lu shan de wu yan san shi yun); the second from ‘A Brief Sojourn in the Spring Rain Studio, Thereupon Composing a Poem’ (Chun yu xuan xiao zuo yin er cheng yong); the third from ‘Respectfully Inscribed on the Pine and Crane Studio’ (Jing ti Songhe zhai); and the final verse is taken from ‘Viewing the Crops and Recording the Joy’ (Guan jia zhi xi), included in the Imperial Poems, Second Collection, juan 59.
Provenance: The private collection of Jules Speelman, London. Jules Speelman is a world-leading dealer and collector of East Asian art with 60 years of experience. In 1964 he joined his late father, Alfred, in the family business which already stretched back three generations to 19th century Holland and expanded into England around the turn of the century. Originally, A & J Speelman dealt with antiques, from European ceramics, silver, tapestries, and furniture to Chinese porcelain, and works of art. With his father, Jules gradually shifted the focus towards Asia and under Jules Speelman's skilled direction, A & J Speelman is now considered amongst the foremost dealers in Asian antiques, with a particular emphasis on figurative sculpture and works of art from the past 2000 years.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities including expected pitting, minor rubbing to the gilt, little bruising with few minuscule losses, faint cracks to the edges.
Weight: 283 g
Dimensions: Length 13.2 cm
This pair of peach-shaped cloisonné enamel wall vases is remarkable for both its rare form and the incorporation of inscriptions. The inclusion of the two characters yu zhi indicating imperial manufacture further cements their association with the Qing imperial court. The peach was a favored motif across a variety of media due to its association with longevity and immortality. The representation of two peaches conveys a wish for doubled longevity, making such a pair particularly appropriate as an auspicious gift or presentation object for an imperial birthday celebration. They may have been intended for interior display or the decoration of a carriage or sedan chair. Wall vases were produced in various materials during the Qianlong reign, and pairs of porcelain examples commissioned in 1742 are known with imperial inscriptions indicating their use in an imperial sedan chair. A related porcelain sedan-chair vase from the Percival David Foundation is illustrated in Rosemary Scott, For the Imperial Court – Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, New York, 1997, p. 18-19 and 52-53, no. 3.
The subject was also produced as pairs of single peaches, see a closely related cloisonné enamel pair, similarly inscribed with a yuzhi poem, sold at Bonhams London, 14 May 2009, lot 164 and more recently at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3333, for HKD 1,000,000 or approx. EUR 131,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).
Wang Jihua (1717-1776) was a prominent Qing official and scholar from Qiantang, Zhejiang. He ranked third in the 1745 imperial examination, entering the Hanlin Academy and subsequently rising through the highest levels of government to become Minister of Revenue and Grand Preceptor to the Heir Apparent. He was also deeply involved in the Qianlong court's major literary and antiquarian projects, such as selecting essential works for the Siku Quanshu and participating in the compilation of other important imperial works. A surviving fan in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, for example, bears Wang's calligraphy of a Qianlong imperial composition, reference number 故扇000761N000000000.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related painted enamel peach-shaped water pot with a smaller peach on the side, and its twig curled under it to form the base, Yongzheng mark and period, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 203, no. 194.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 13 May 2008, lot 50
Price: GBP 72,500 or approx. EUR 97,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare imperial cloisonné enamel double-peach wall-vase, Qianlong (1736-95)
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and inscriptions. Note the size (18.7 cm)
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