China, Jingdezhen. The rectangular plaque painted in green and blue tones with seven monkeys frolicking, each with a comical and mischievous expression, a pair with a young seated below a tree playing the flute and pointing upwards, a young monkey playing with a lamp at the tree top, and two monkeys perched on a branch holding a stick trying to reach out to another monkey hanging on a tendril.

Inscriptions: Center left, inscribed ‘Guanyin fenghou’ (a wish for a speedy promotion), one seal of the artist, ‘Gu huan’ (ancient joy).

Provenance: From the private collection of a doctor, Connecticut, USA.
Condition: Very good condition with some old wear and little rubbing. The frame with few small nicks and scratches.

Weight: 3,340 g
Dimensions: Image size 40.8 x 25.3 cm, Size incl. mounting 47.8 x 32.3 cm

In a hardwood frame with metal mount, both from the period. (2)

Gu huan (ancient joy) is the studio name that belongs to Pan Taoyu (1887-1926), a porcelain master from Jingdezhen. The emergence of the market for fine decorative art porcelains was an important development and brought a fresh and vibrant energy to porcelain making in China during the Republic period. Pan Taoyu was one of the most important pioneers and masters of porcelain painters in the early 20^th century. With his superb ability to depict delicate fine shadings, Pan achieved excellence in painting a wide range of objects on porcelain, including figures, landscapes, and bird-and-flowers motifs. Among Pan Taoyu’s students are Wang Yeting, Liu Yucen and Cheng Yiting, all important members of the celebrated ‘Eight Friends of Zhushan’ group who were among the best fencai masters of the Republic period. Pan Taoyu died young, and very few of his personal works survived.

Qianjiang is a term used to describe a type of over-glaze enameled ware that was very popular during the Late Qing/Early Republican Period. The term Qianjiang cai (enamels) or Qianjiang porcelain was only coined in the 1950s. Prior to that, annals or commentaries in the late Qing and Republican periods did not classify it as a new distinctive type of over-glaze enamel decorative technique on porcelain. The term was initially used to describe a distinct style of landscape painting by the Yuan master Huang Gongwang. It is typified by the use of a particular color scheme: varying ink tones for outlines and reddish-brown for other aspects such as foliage, flowing water, mountain shades etc. The term was subsequently used to describe a porcelain painting style that used similar techniques but with additional colors such as aquamarine, moss green, pale blue, red and light pink.

The relationship between qianjiang and fencai painting has caused quite a bit of confusion. In terms of the decorating medium, qianjiang utilizes fencai enamels. The main difference is actually the source of inspiration for the painting because the Qianjiang school draws its inspiration from the Chinese literati style, whereas the typical fencai work is more akin to gongbi painting. For fencai painting, the areas within the outlines of the motif are first applied with an arsenic-based opaque white pigment. The deeper and lighter tones are then obtained by mixing the enamels with different amounts of this opaque substance. For Qianjiang, the enamels are applied directly without the opaque white pigment. Hence, the enamels are thin and lack tonal gradations, especially on the early qianjiang works.

Monkeys are a popular motif in Chinese art. Shown together with the inscription, they symbolize the wish for immediate success or a speedy promotion of young candidates.

Literature comparison:
Examples of Pan Taoyu’s personal porcelain paintings are illustrated by Simon Kwan, Chinese Porcelain of the Republic Period, The Muwen Tang Collection Series, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 68-73, and on the cover.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 10 November 2011, lot 569
Price: GBP 361,250 or approx. EUR 641,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare pair of enameled fan-shaped plaques, circa 1900-1920, signed by Pan Taoyu (circa 1887-1926)
Expert remark: Note that the lot comprises two fan-shaped plaques and that these are personal (not studio) works by the master. Note also the much larger size (54 cm).

潘匋宇(1887-1926)淺絳彩《卦印封侯》瓷板
中國，景德鎮。長方，此橫幅作品以一角構圖，繪樹上樹下幾隻靈猴或是掛於樹間，或是在樹下戲耍。樹上有一隻手正努力把一個印掛在樹上。畫法細膩，樹枝凹凸斑駁處著意用粉彩渲染，色澤由暗漸明，可見是經過層層暈染方成，極富立體感。以靈猴裝飾瓷器，明清時較為少見，但從晚清民國的瓷器鳥獸畫來看，藉著吉祥“封侯”之寓意，在作品中繪以雅趣。

款識：卦印封候；鈴印：古歡

來源：美國康涅狄格州醫生私人收藏。
品相：狀況極好，有一些磨損和少量磨損。木框上有一些小劃痕。

重量：3,340 克
尺寸：畫面40.8 x 25.3 釐米，總47.8 x 32.3 釐米

硬木框金屬架，應爲來自同期。

潘匋宇（約1887-1926）又名古歡，齋名古歡齋，新粉彩奠基人之一。潘匋宇出生於書香門第，其父次山，亦善繪事，潘匋宇自小受其影響頗深，對繪畫耳濡目染。1911年任江西省立甲種工業學校國畫教師，執教之餘，常繪彩瓷，擅長粉彩，作畫清淡雅麗，花鳥、人物均重神韻，從不刻意求工。珠山八友中的劉雨岑、程意亭、汪野亭均出自潘氏門山。其作品領一時風騷，開一時風氣，而影響後世，傳世不多，尤為難得。

淺絳彩是用來描述一種在清末民初非常流行的釉上琺瑯器的術語。淺絳彩（琺瑯）或淺絳彩瓷這個詞是在 1950 年代才創造的。 在此之前，晚清民國時期的志書或評論均未將其列為一種別具一格的技法。 這個詞最初被用來描述元代大師黃公望的一種獨特的山水畫風格。它使用了特定的配色：以不同墨色調畫輪廓，其他部分如樹葉、流水、山影等，則上紅褐色。但還有其他顏色配色，如海藍寶石色、苔綠色、淡藍色、紅色和淺粉色。

淺絳彩與粉彩畫常讓人感到混亂。淺絳彩多採用粉彩繪畫，主要區別實際上是繪畫的靈感來源。因為淺絳彩從中國文人風格中汲取靈感，而典型的粉彩作品更類似於工筆劃。粉彩畫的畫法是先在圖案輪廓內的區域塗上不透明白色顏料，然後將琺瑯與不同份量的這種不透明物質混合，調出更深和更淺的色調。淺絳彩則是不使用不透明的白色顏料，而是直接上釉。因此早期的淺絳彩作品，釉質較薄且缺乏色調層次。

文獻比較：
潘匋宇的個人瓷板畫作，見 Simon Kwan，《Chinese Porcelain of the Republic Period，The Muwen Tang Collection Series》，香港，2008年，頁68-73，以及封面。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2011年11月 10日，lot 569
價格：GBP 361,250（相當於今日EUR 641,000）
描述：潘匋宇一對扇形琺瑯瓷板約1900-1920年
專家評論：請注意此為一對扇形瓷板，以及是個人作品。請注意尺寸較大 (54 厘米)。