Provenance
The Roberto Kramer Collection.
The Harriet Szechenyi Collection, Switzerland.
Bonhams, London, 10 November 2011, lot 136.
Marchant, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium, acquired from the above in 2016, accompanied by a copy of their original invoice and their certificate of authenticity. (see added scans)
Exhibited and illustrated:
Marchant, London, included in their 2013 exhibition of 'Imperial Chinese Porcelain, Ceramics and Works of Art', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 22–25, no. 10
Marchant, London, included in their 2016 exhibition of 'Kangxi Underglaze Blue and Copper-Red' and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 20–23, no. 6.
Description
The cylindrical brushpot is finely painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a continuous figural scene depicting the celebrated Jin-dynasty statesman Xie An seated at a table playing Weiqi with his nephew beneath draped curtains, attended by female servants. To one side, a mounted messenger arrives bearing news from the battlefield, while attendants, bannermen and a tethered horse appear amongst rockwork and trees in an expansive landscape setting. The scene is framed by a band of "blobby dots" above the foot and a key-fret border below the rim. The underside bears a two-character Qing Wan (清玩) mark within a double circle.
The subject illustrates the famous episode following the Battle of the Fei River in AD 383. According to tradition, Xie An remained calmly engaged in a game of Weiqi when news of the Jin victory arrived, an act of composure that became a lasting symbol of scholarly cultivation and self-restraint.
Particularly noteworthy is the landscape, rendered with delicate 'xiao pima cun' (small hemp-fibre strokes), a technique borrowed from literati painting. The cobalt is of an elegant and restrained tone, with subtle shading used to define the figures, trees and rock formations, creating a refined composition characteristic of Kangxi-period scholar’s wares.
筆筒呈圓筒形，通體以青花繪人物故事圖。畫面描繪東晉名臣謝安與其姪於帷幕之下對坐弈棋，案旁侍女侍立，一側可見騎馬使者疾馳而至傳遞捷報，另有侍從、旗手及駿馬穿插於山石景致之間，構成一幅生動而富有戲劇性的歷史場景。器身上下分別飾點狀紋帶及回字紋邊飾，底書青花雙圈「清玩」二字款。
畫面所繪為著名的「淝水之戰」典故。據《晉書》記載，東晉重臣謝安（320–385）於前線捷報傳來之際，仍神情自若地與姪子對弈圍棋，其從容鎮定的風度遂成為後世文人士大夫推崇的典範。
山石以小披麻皴技法描繪，筆意細膩流暢，青花發色淡雅清潤，濃淡層次分明，人物、樹石與庭園景物皆富文人畫意趣，展現康熙時期青花文房瓷的雅逸風格。
Reference:
A closely related brushpot in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated by Chen Runmin in 'The Gugong Museum Collection of Qing Dynasty Porcelain: Shunzhi Period and Kangxi Period Underglaze Blue', Beijing, 2005, no. 204, pp. 308–309. Another example is illustrated by Claudia Brown in 'Chinese Ceramics: The Wong Collection', Phoenix Art Museum, 1982, no. 69, p. 39 and front cover. A further example from this early Kangxi group was included in S. Marchant & Son, 'The Dr. Lowell Young Collection, Ming & Qing Blue & White Porcelain', London, 2012, no. 21, pp. 48–49.
Lot 51
Qing Wan 清玩 mark, Kangxi
Dia.: 17,9 cm - H.: 14,6 cm
Estimation
€ 60.000,00 – € 120.000,00
Provenance
The Roberto Kramer Collection.
The Harriet Szechenyi Collection, Switzerland.
Bonhams, London, 10 November 2011, lot 136.
Marchant, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium, acquired from the above in 2016, accompanied by a copy of their original invoice and their certificate of authenticity. (see added scans)
Exhibited and illustrated:
Marchant, London, included in their 2013 exhibition of 'Imperial Chinese Porcelain, Ceramics and Works of Art', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 22–25, no. 10
Marchant, London, included in their 2016 exhibition of 'Kangxi Underglaze Blue and Copper-Red' and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 20–23, no. 6.