A FINE AND LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS' VASE, HU, QING DYNASTY China, 1750-1850. The pear-shaped body rising from a short, slightly spreading foot to a waisted neck flanked by archaistic scroll handles. Painted around the exterior in rich cobalt-blue tones with a circumferential lotus band, all between ruyi-head, lotus-lappet, and classic scroll bands. The neck with a band of shou medallions on a wan ground. The base with an underglaze-blue six-character seal mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi.

Provenance: Collection Particulière Marseillaise.
Condition: Superb condition with old wear, shallow surface scratches and firing flaws, such as dark spots, pitting, and firing cracks. One handle with firing cracks and associated glaze recesses to the lower joint. For a detailed video of the vase shot under strong blue light, please refer to the department.

Weight: 11.6 kg (excl. base)
Dimensions: Height 44 cm (excl. base) and 54 cm (incl. base)

With a lotiform carved hardwood base, possibly from the period, but at least 100 years old. (2)

Expert's note: Vases such as the present lot have their origins in the archaic ritual vessel called Hu, but in their size and slightly exaggerated form they predominantly served to proclaim the advanced skills and sophisticated techniques of mid-Qing Dynasty porcelain manufacture. The lotus scroll also has its distant origins dating back to the Yuan Dynasty, but by the Qianlong period it had become the very formal, evenly-spaced pattern with its self-conscious echo of a past long bygone. It is this very structure, however, that helps today's scholars to establish a precise dating for any vase from this group: The more dense the lotus pattern is, the later the piece. The present lot, however, is a bit of a riddle, as its lotus scrolls reside more or less exactly between the sparse, almost frugal 'Ming Style' patterns from the early Qianlong period and the dense, almost cluttered scrolls from the late Qing and Minguo periods. Same goes for the rich cobalt-blue tones: Not quite as brilliant and intensive as in the early Qianlong era, but also by far not as dull and feeble as in later times. For these reasons, it is this author's belief that the present lot is either from the second half of the Qianlong period, or from the first half of the 19th century.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related blue and white hu, with a Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24 September 1987, lot 74, offered again at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 2004, lot 1065. Further examples of this vase are illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, plate 62. Geng Baochang, Ming Qing Ciqi Jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, page 267, figure 455. Exhibition of Qing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1973, no. 68.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's New York, 19 March 2013, lot 164
Price: USD 485,000 or approx. EUR 614,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine blue and white 'lotus' vase, hu, Qianlong seal mark and period
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, decoration, handles, and size (45.1 cm)

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Shanghai Doyun Xuan Auction, 25-26 December 2012, lot 2299
Price: RMB 4,140,000 or approx. EUR 737,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, Blue and white with lingzhi-lian design and double-eared deer-headed vase
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, decoration, handles, and size (44 cm)

清代大型青花纏枝蓮紋雙螭耳鹿頭尊
中國, 1775-1875年。尊直口微敞，短頸，造型似鹿頭，頸部兩側飾螭龍形耳，圓鼓腹下垂，圈足，胎體厚重，線條飽滿，器形大氣威嚴。尊通體以青花描繪，髮色鮮豔淋漓，口沿及頸部分飾迴紋、團壽字及嵌套如意雲，足脛部則裝飾蓮瓣紋、卷草紋，紋飾繪製精細，腹部主體通繪三重纏枝蓮，花朵碩大飽滿，枝葉翻轉，圖案極富層次感。圈足内“大清乾隆年製”六字三行篆書款。

來源：馬賽特別收藏
品相：狀況極佳，舊磨損、表面淺划痕和燒製缺陷，如黑點、點蝕和燒製開片。一螭耳帶有燒製裂紋和釉面凹槽。 在強藍光下拍攝的詳細視頻，請垂詢團隊。

重量：11.6 公斤 (不含底座)
尺寸：高 44 厘米(不含底座)，總 54 厘米

硬木底座, 可能是來自同一時期，至少100年。 (2)

專家注釋：這件鹿頭尊有點像謎，因為它的纏枝蓮紋或多或少正好介於乾隆初期的稀疏分佈、甚至可以説是“明式”的簡潔與晚清和民國時期的密集分佈之間。其青花色調也是如此：不像乾隆初期那樣明快濃郁，也不像後期那麼沉悶乏味。出於這些原因，作者認為這件拍品是乾隆後半期或十九世紀前半葉的產物。

文獻比較：比較一件乾隆款及年代的青花尊，見香港蘇富比，1987年9月24日lot 74；同一件拍品再見香港佳士得 2004年4月26日 lot 1065；再參閲參閱《胡惠春，王華雲女士捐贈瓷器精品選》，上海博物館，1989年，頁97，圖62；耿寶昌《明清瓷器鑑定》，紫禁城出版社，1993年，頁267，圖455；屈志仁著，《華光艸堂珍藏清代瓷器》，香港，1973年，編號68。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2013年3月19日，lot 164
價格：USD 485,000（相當於今日EUR 614,500）
描述：清乾隆青花纏枝蕃蓮紋卷雲耳壺，《大清乾隆年製》款
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外型、裝飾、螭龍形耳，以及尺寸(45.1厘米)。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：上海朵雲軒，2012年12月25-26日，lot 2299
價格：RMB 4,140,000（相當於今日EUR 737,000）
描述：清乾隆青花纏枝蓮紋雙耳鹿頭尊
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外型、裝飾、螭龍形耳，以及尺寸(44厘米)。