Lot 244
Treasury 6, no. 1385 (‘Procession of Tribute Bearers’)
HK$30,000

Colourless glaze on cobalt and copper on porcelain; with a convex lip and recessed, slightly convex circular foot surrounded by a protruding convex footrim; painted under the glaze with a continuous scene of eight foreign tribute bearers, ranged in two registers of four, each beside or astride an animal, mostly mythical but including a white elephant and a dappled pony, each figure holding an item of tribute (a folded canopy on a shaft, an elephant tusk, what may be intended as two rolls of silk, a sheathed sword, a branch of coral, a ruyi sceptre, a volume of books, and a pearl); the neck with a formalized lingzhi band; the inside of the neck also painted with a double-blue-line border; the foot, lip, inner neck, and interior glazed
Jingdezhen, 1840–1870
Height: 8.44 cm
Mouth/lip: 1.15/1.82 cm
Stopper: colourless glaze on cobalt on porcelain, painted with a formalized shou (‘longevity’) character, made from half a bead; gilt-bronze collar

Provenance:
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd (1985)

Published:
Treasury 6, no. 1385

Of the same form as Sale 2, lot 106, this is a rare variant on the subject, with the tribute bearers ranged in two registers set horizontally around the bottle, as they were that bottle. We know this design was current in the Xianfeng era because Sale 2, lot 106, bears that reign mark, but it may have been produced earlier and perhaps later as well.

An extremely unusual feature of this bottle, which seems somewhat of a waste of effort, is the double blue lines around the inner neck. It is a nice little touch, speaking of some commitment, but why it was felt necessary is a mystery.

This is not the Sotheby’s sale catalogue. This is a product of Hugh Moss for the purposes of this website. For the catalogue details please refer to Sotheby’s website or request a copy of a printed sale catalogue from Sotheby’s.