China, 1770-1870. Sturdily potted, the baluster body superbly painted in pink, blue, iron-red and shades of green with a continuous and monumental landscape scene depicting minuscule figures on fishing boats and houses amid craggy rockwork and pine trees, with mountains towering in the background, some barely visible at first sight. The base with an underglaze blue six-character seal mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi and possibly late in the period.

Provenance: British private collection.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and minimal firing irregularities, such as dark spots, microscopic pitting all over, occasional light scratches, the gilt to rim almost entirely worn off, extensive soiling to the interior.

Weight: 3,470 g
Dimensions: Height 36.8 cm

The depiction is framed by underglaze blue bands of ruyi-heads, with borders of scrolling ribbons to the waisted neck below the gilt rim and to the spreading foot.

The masterly execution of the continuous landscape is reminiscent of vases manufactured in the imperial kilns under the direction of Tang Ying during the early years of Qianlong’s reign. The painterly manner in which the landscape is rendered is inspired by the work of Wang Hui (1632-1717), who played a key role both in reinvigorating past traditions of landscape painting and in establishing the stylistic foundations for the Imperially sponsored art of the Qing court.

Expert’s note: While both the classic lantern form as well as the style and quality of the landscape would firmly place the present vase in the Qianlong period, the relatively simple underglaze blue borders are not only in stark contrast to the granularity of the main motif, but also rather unusual as a whole. Most Qianlong mark and period examples show either no borders at all, or much more elaborate ones, and some have a more ‘impressionist’ appearance, while Republic period examples simply cannot even approximate the present work in terms of painterly skill and detail. It is therefore both possible that this vase was made either late during the Qianlong reign, or in the 19^th century. Either way, it is certainly not a Minguo piece.

Literature comparison: A blue and white lantern vase painted with deer and crane amongst rockwork and pine trees from the Qing Court Collection is illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III) - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2000, vol. 36, no. 135. Another was included in the exhibition ‘Imperial Perfection, Chinese Palace Porcelain of the Three Great Emperors at the Minneapolis Institute of Art’, no. 27 Minneapolis, 2004. A vase of similar lantern-shape with a continuous landscape scene painted in Famille Rose is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 5, Beijing, 2011, no. 196, and another vase painted in a restricted blue palette and with a four-character Qianlong mark in red enamel, but considerably smaller than the present lot and archaistic in style, is illustrated ibid, no. 149. Compare also with a blue and white vase with a village scene in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 14.40.268.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related lantern vase with underglaze blue six-character Qianlong reign mark, painted with a similar landscape scene but much more elaborate borders, at Bonhams London in Fine Chinese Art on 10 November 2011, lot 184, sold for GBP 205,250. Compare also with a related, but unmarked lantern vase, painted in underglaze blue and copper-red at Duke’s on 11 February 2010, Dorchester, UK, lot 300, sold for GBP 625,000, and another at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in Legacies of Imperial Power: Treasures from the Imperial Collection on 8 October 2008, lot 2203, bought-in at an estimate of HKD 5,000,000-7,000,000. For a related vase of similar form and decoration, but inscribed with a poem and possibly earlier, see Christie’s Hong Kong in The Imperial Sale on 29 April 2001, lot 516, sold for HKD 3,125,000.

乾隆款粉彩山水燈籠瓶
中國, 1770-1870年。器呈直口，短頸，豐肩，筒腹，圈足。瓶身使用粉色、藍色、礬紅和綠色描繪了山水亭臺景觀，背景群山綿延，水上漁舟，山間松林，令人向往。底足青花六字款“大清乾隆年制“。

來源：英國私人收藏.
品相：狀況極佳，小磨損，輕微燒製瑕疵，例如黑斑，遍布整個表面的微觀點蝕，些與輕微劃痕，邊緣鎏金完全磨損，內部污跡。

重量：3,470 克
尺寸：高36.8 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一件青花六字乾隆款山水景觀燈籠瓶見倫敦邦瀚斯Fine Chinese Art 拍場2011年11月10日 lot 184, 售價GBP 202,250. ；一件相近但無款的青花釉裏紅見英國多切斯特杜克2010年2月11日 lot 300, 售價GBP 625,000, 以及另一件見香港蘇富比Legacies of Imperial Power: Treasures from the Imperial Collection 拍場2008年10月8日 lot 2203, 估價HKD 5,000,000-7,000,000. 一件形制以及繪畫簡潔但有詩文的燈籠瓶見香港佳士得The Imperial Sale 拍場2001年4月29日 lot 516, 售價HKD 3,125,000.