China, c. 1734-1740. The rounded sides rising from a splayed foot to a tapering neck with an everted rim, finely painted in bright enamels with redcurrants on a branch with foliage, reserved on a black ground.

Provenance: British private collection.
Condition: Overall, very good condition with some old wear and firing flaws, some chips to edges, expected pitting and glaze recesses, occasional light scratches and traces of use.

Weight: 1,529 g
Dimensions: Height 28.8 cm

Having been inspired in form by archaic Chinese bronzes, this vase was designed by the Dutch draftsman Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759), who was employed by the Dutch East India Company to produce porcelain designs from 1734 until 1740. Pronk incorporated in many of his designs details taken from prints by the Dutch-Swiss botanist, Marie Sybille Merian (1646-1717), and the decoration on these vases closely copy Merian’s botanical studies (see William Motley, Think Pink, Cohen & Cohen, Reigate, 2013, page 60 for a discussion of these designs).

The vases were made in two styles: tall and slim (as in the present lot), or shorter and broader. Motley states that there are three known designs, which he calls ‘dewbury’, ‘fritillary’, and ‘redcurrant’, after the botanical specimens they represent. Due to the small output of porcelain designed by Pronk, the few vases that have survived are highly prized, and meticulously decorated examples such as the present lot are rare.

Literature comparison: A three-piece garniture, of the shorter variety, and with the ‘redcurrant’ design, is in the Östiatiska Museet, Stockholm, illustrated by Jan Wirgin, Fran Kina till Europa, Stockholm, 1998, p. 175, no. 189. A single vase of the taller and slimmer type but of inverted shape, which has the same design as on the present vase, was sold at Christie’s London, 22 June 1981, lot 145, and published by Anthony du Boulay, Christie’s Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, p. 269.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a pair of square beaker vases with the same design at Christie’s London in Noble & Private Collections on 27 October 2015, lot 70, sold for GBP 26,250. Compare also with a three-piece garniture of the same design, featuring two very similar vases, at Christie’s London in Noble & Private Collections Part I on 25 April 2017, lot 118, sold for GBP 27,500, and a pair of near identical vases in the same auction, lot 119, sold for GBP 18,750.

十八世紀黑地粉彩花卉紋方瓶
中國，約1734-1740年。方瓶四角圓滑，底足外張，頸部向上逐漸變細。明亮的粉彩琺琅，描繪了紅醋栗，樹枝上有葉子，黑色釉地。

來源：英國私人收藏
品相：總體而言，狀況非常好，有一些舊磨損和燒制缺陷，邊緣有一些磕損，預期的凹痕和釉面凹陷，偶有的輕微划痕和使用痕跡。

重量：1,529 克
尺寸：高28.8 厘米

拍賣結果比較：同款裝飾紋的一對方瓶售于倫敦佳士得Noble & Private Collections 拍場2015年10月27日, lot 70, 售價GBP 26,250；一組相同裝飾的三瓶售于倫敦佳士得Noble & Private Collections Part I 拍場，2017年4月25日, lot 118, 售價GBP 27,500；一對幾乎一模一樣的花瓶在同一拍場, lot 119, 售價GBP 18,750.