Wall Vases

A rare pair of finely carved soapstone wall vases, with figural scenes of elegant ladies in a garden. Each is composed of a flat back and a curved front panel, joined and then carved in highly detailed low-relief on the front. The soapstone used for each vase varies in tone, one in a lightly veined honey colour; the other has a mottles grey-beige front and a rust brown back. Each vase has carved scenes of exquisitely dressed idealised ladies (meiren), wearing long flowing robes, hair styled in a high top-knot. They stand in an idyllic garden with rockeries and plants, a small fence and a single jardiniere with a flowering plant standing on a garden seat. Stylised clouds float by in the upper part of the vase. The scene is enhanced with colourful green, blue and red pigments, detailed with finely incised gold lines. The background is very finely carved and gilded with a tiny formalised fish scale pattern. The vase stands on a high foot with a stepped edge, with incised hanging leaves and the bottom of the foot has a fine cracked ice pattern in gold. The neck is pierced with a hole in the front and back so it can be hung.

Soapstone or steatite, is called hua shi in Chinese, which literally translates to ‘slippery stone’. As its name suggests, it is very soft, smooth and slippery to the touch. It is found in veins or as loose boulders in the South Eastern coastal regions of China. It comes in many colour variations, from a soft cream to a russet red. Being one of the softest of all stones, it is ideal for small scale intricate sculptures and works of art. Worked with a knife and chisel, craftsmanship was highly refined. It was a material particularly popular with the literati as it was a natural and modest material.

The Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, has numerous soapstone wall vases, though none with a figurative scene. Inventory notes suggest that there were also soapstone wall vases in the collection of Augustus the Strong intended for his Japanese Palace.

China, Qianlong period (1736-1795), mark and period

H: 25.8 cm | Ø: 15 cm

PROVENANCE

Private Collection Europe

Ina & Sandford Gadient Collection, USA, 2000 (label inv.no.23)

PUBLISHED

Treasures of Chinese Glass Workshops -

The Ina & Sandford Gadient Collection no.23

LITERATURE

Brown & Rabiner 1987, p.22 no.11

Brown & Rabiner 1990, no.24

Rong 2005, p.140 no.17 & p.340 no.165

Ruriko 2018, no.23

Shangraw, Rabiner & Brown 1995, p.74 no.44

Shangraw & Volf 1997, p.38 no.24

A transparent vivid peacock-blue glass vase, with a jewel like brilliant hue. The tall cylindrical neck raises above a full bulbous body and stands on a recessed slightly inverted foot ring. The surface is entirely plain and smooth; the body has few small scattered inclusions and bubbles. On the recessed base is a wheel-cut four character reign mark - Qianlong nian zhi (made in the Qianlong period) in standard script within a large double-line square.

This thick-bodied vase, would have been mould-blown and finished by grinding the rim and foot then polishing and buffing it to a shine. It is almost certainly the product of the Imperial Glass Workshop in Beijing. First established by Emperor Kangxi in 1696, this dedicated studio continued to flourish under imperial patronage throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Particularly the Qianlong period was considered the Golden Age of glass production, when the Imperial Glasshouse was producing an extraordinary range of bright new colours and innovative shapes. The manufactory formed part of the extensive department of imperial artwork studios (zaobanchu), which supplied the highest quality artworks for the royal family as well as diplomatic gifts and tributes.

A vase of very similar shape and colour is in the collection of Alan Feen, USA. A Qianlong mark and period vase, of the same shape but deeper blue, is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (acc.no.2010.141). A bottle vase of a comparable blue-green hue and transparency, but of later date, is in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing.

In using glass to make vessels, the shapes can be quite varied. Moreover, the colour may be red, purple, yellow, white, black, green or any hue. Clear as crystal, red as flame, it is something easy to delight in.