Topnotch Qing-to-Republic Three Kingdom Warrior Vase

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The Chinese classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, served to inspire the enameler who adorned our vase with a rouge de fer , gilt and grisaille tableau of ancient dashing warriors in horseback hot pursuit. The figures gallop across a pale ivory like ground, over fantastical rock formations and past a yurt-type tent, all dramatically rendered in quasi floating style from an iron-based palette of pigments toned from brilliant orange to black. Based on characteristics of biscuit and glaze, we believe the period of manufacture to be late Qing or early Republic. Of note, however, the motif embodies precision brushwork consistent with the traditional style of earlier Qing porcelain-painting masters. The graceful form of the vase, with its short cupped mouth, shallowly molded shoulder bands and high spreading foot, had close prototypes in previous ceramics as well. For your information, we've used a computer-generated outline to illustrate the form of a Daoguang-era (1821-50) vase from page 43 of The Great Fortune (Berlin, 2002) a comprehensive survey of late Qing and related porcelains, edited by their consummate collector Georg Weishaupt. These implications suggest the possibility of a prior date, though we would still favor one no earlier than the Guangxu period (1875-1908). CONDITION: Very good, without cracks, chips or restoration. read more

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