A large and impressive cloisonné vessel of the 'fang zun' type

Description:

China, 17th/18th cent.
H. 47,3 cm
The square cross-section, modelled on archaic Zun vessels, with shou character amidst lotus leaves, the tall trumpet-shaped neck is decorated with archaic lobes that include interlocking scrolls and more lotus leaves, the splayed foot is also enamelled, with notched vertical flanges dividing each side and each corner, the inside of the opening is enamelled with a scroll and more lotus leaves, the splayed foot is also enamelled, with notched vertical flanges dividing each side and corner, the inside of the opening is decorated with further lotus flowers, all on a turquoise-coloured ground, the edges are fire-gilt.
From an old South German private collection, collected from 1970, according to tradition acquired by the Stuttgart art dealer and scholar Tseng Tung-fa (d. 1992)
The present vase with its elegant construction and elaborate enamelling bears witness to the 17th and 18th century interest in antiquity. The square cup shape with its sharp-edged flanges is modelled on a ritual bronze vesseläß from the Zhou dynasty, namely a zun with a square cross-section. The design juxtaposes motifs taken from or inspired by the Zhou dynasty prototypes, such as the taotie masks in the centre register and the blades at the foot, with those found in contemporary porcelains, lacquers and textiles. Parts of the vessel that were not present in the original from the Zhou dynasty or would have remained empty were filled with lotus leaves, demonstrating the craftsmen's freedom of improvisation. Only a few Zun vessels in this large form are known. Compare a somewhat larger and äsimilarly designed vesseläß in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in Gugong bowuyuan cangpin daxi: falangqi bian [Compendium of the Palace Museum Collections: Cloisonné], vol. 2, Beijing, 2011, fig. 36. slightly smaller cloisonnéenamel zun, about 55 cm high, include one with Qianlong mark and of the period in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 49; another is illustrated in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, fig. 212; another piece with an apocryphal Jingtai mark was sold at Christie's New York on 25 March 1998 as lot 89 - Minor signs of age and use, a flange finial to the upper corner with small repair