Porcelain & Works of Art

Reclining horse, ma, the ears folded back, with detailed hairwork to its mane and tail, looking back at a monkey, hou, climbing on its hind quarters, its hands on the horse’s nose, the monkey with a furrowed brow and detailed hairwork to its spine, the stone mottled dark and light grey.

Chinese jade standing elephant, xiang, draped with a tasselled cloth, each side with a shou-character medallion on a geometric brocade wan-character ground, with detailed hairwork to the elephant’s tail, the feet neatly finished on the underside, a boy kneeling on its back holding a branch of flowering prunus, the stone white with slight russet markings.

Chinese jade baluster vase and cover of flattened form, with two open-work archaic-style dragon handles, carved on the body in high relief with a three-clawed dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl amongst ruyi-head clouds, above crested waves with an open-winged bat in flight, the reverse with a double gourd issuing ruyi-clouds above waves, the corners with stylised rope, one with a hanging basket of peaches beneath lotus leaves on the rim and cover and a lotus pod-form finial, the stone pale celadon, mottled and russet.

Chinese porcelain blue and white baluster vase with single-ribbed neck and galleried rim, painted on the body with three qilins standing on rocks amongst billowing and crested waves and sea spray, with stylised flames being emitted from their mouths, the ribbed neck with bands of lappets, scrolls and ruyi-heads, all between crenulated bands above the foot and on the rim, the base glazed white.

Pair of Chinese porcelain famille rose, fencai, square tapered vases and stands, painted on the facets with eight different scenes, comprised of a General in conversation with two dignitaries at a city wall, three ladies beside a table, a young couple with a child, and a lady and gentleman walking beside a fence, the other vase with two smiling men dancing, holding fans meeting a young figure with a sword tied to his back, a monk seated on a mat beside a lady and attendant, a scholar in landscape with attendant and boy and a couple on either side of a long table, all beneath the sloping shoulders, with pink flowerheads and leaves on a lemon yellow ground, beneath butterflies on the neck and a crenulated band on the flat square rim, the stands decorated with a turquoise and yellow enamelled ground with stylised flowers and a triangular iron-red diaper on the flat rim.

Chinese jade vase of flattened rectangular tapered baluster form with two mythological animal mask and loose ring handles, carved in low relief on each side with a double-xi character, encircled by stylised peony flowerheads on scrolling branches linked by a ruyi-head and ring in a recessed frame beneath archaic-style lappets and ruyi-heads all between incised keyfret bands on the rim and foot, the sides with two individual xi characters each within a frame with a single ruyi-head border, the stone very pale celadon with slight natural darker markings.

A large Japanese porcelain globular vase and cover, covered overall in a creamy crackle glaze and decorated on either sides with a vase of flowers and blue, copper red and gilt enamels, the neck decorated with a draped piece of fabric tied with a rope at the rim, continuing with a dragon on the cover.

Famille rose figural group of a seated Chinese man drinking beside a lady with his arm on her shoulder, both on a naturalist pierced rockwork plinth, the man’s blue-enamelled unbuttoned tunic incised with ruyi-clouds, also wearing iron-red breeches and black enamelled boots, the lady with her right hand raised to her mouth, wearing a yellow jacket with landscape panels and a blue dress with a leg and bound foot revealed, her hair tied and pinned in a high chignon.

A Chinese porcelain blue and white lobed teapot and cover, painted with four panels of river landscape scenes with pavilions, fisherman, pine tree, a viewing pavilion and birds in flight, with floral sprays on the spout and handle, the cover similarly decorated.

Large Swatow deep circular dish painted in turquoise, black and iron-red enamels with a large central scene of the ‘split pagoda’, with mountains in the distance, figures crossing a bridge and boats, all above three pagodas on rockwork, surrounded by four ruyi-head flaming medallions of fisherman, two with figures crossing a bridge, one with a fishing boat with one of the fisherman holding a net and the other with a boat in a river scene, between four four-character iron-red seals within a double square, the underside plain, the base and foot rim with sand grit.

Large Swatow deep circular dish painted in turquoise, black, iron-red and green enamel with gently everted rim, painted in the centre with a barefoot artist wandering in a landscape holding a branch supporting a long-tailed bird, with a rucksack of scrolls and gourd, a further rolled scroll sits on an easel extending from his rucksack, all beside a deer, rockwork, bamboo and beneath a large chrysanthemum, encircled by a lappet band of flowers and branches, the cavetto painted with four large lobed reserves, two with birds perched amongst aster and camellias and two with lotus flowerheads, all between chilong dragon roundels on an iron-red diaper ground of cash and cross-hatch, the underside plain, the base and foot rim with sand grit.

Famille rose and grisaille eggshell soup plate, painted in the centre with a mountainous river-landscape scene with a tall pagoda in the distance and a gated village in the foreground with a figure and his attendant between two horses, another figure crossing a bridge with a fisherman sitting in his boat beside his raised fishing rod, all amongst delicately painted rockwork, trees and houses, beneath a wide gilt floral leafy continuous branch in the cavetto, the flat everted rim with three peony sprays in leaf-shape reserves, besides white and pink chrysanthemum on a pink diaper ground and a gilt diaper band at the rim.

A Chinese porcelain famille verte hexagonal puzzle ewer and cover, painted on the body with panels of mythological animals between branches of flowering plants between bands of flowers, precious objects, scrolls and diaper bands, all on a pedestal foot with precious objects repeated on the cover.

A Chinese porcelain famille verte large fluted flower-form dish with foliate rim, painted in the centre with a battle scene of three equestrians, bannermen and a swordsman in a landscape with rockwork, encircled by six wide panels, two with mythological animals, two with ‘Hundred Antiques’ and two with flowers, between baluster-form divides. The underside with a large artemisia leaf mark within a double ring in underglaze blue.

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A set of four China Trade gouache and watercolour paintings on paper heightened in gum Arabic, three painted with palace garden scenes with figures amongst exotic overhanging trees and one with pagoda island.

Whampoa the deep water anchorage on the Pearl River about eight miles downstream from Canton where the East Indiamen lay at anchor during the four month trading season, the view is taken from Dane’s Island looking towards Wampoa Island with its two pagodas.

Macau depicting the Praya Grande looking North East from the rocky shore across the bay are the Monte and Guia Hills each with a fort at its summit.