A FINE CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE 'DEER AND CRANES' YEN YEN VASE

A FINE CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE 'DEER AND CRANES' YEN YEN VASE
KANGXI 1662-1722

Boldly painted in shades of intense underglaze cobalt blue, depicting a pair of cranes in flight above a doe turning to look at a spotty deer by a riverbank, amidst rockwork and gnarled pine trees, the trumpet neck similarly decorated, divided by a wispy cloud border, the base with a double circle, 46.5cm.

Provenance: from the collection of the 9th Marquis of Waterford, Henry Nicholas de la Poer (b.1958) of Curraghmore, County Waterford.

Cf. The Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, accession no.F1986.4a-b, and the Gardiner Museum of Chinese Art, accession no. G99.10.3, illustrated in Cobalt Treasures: The Bell Collection of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, Toronto, 2003, p.62, for related yen yen vases. See also Bonhams London, 3rd November 2022, lot 152 for a similar example.

The highly auspicious pairing of deer and cranes signifies wishes for immortality. Deer are seen as the symbol of longevity and the only animal capable of searching for the sacred lingzhi mushroom. Cranes were regarded as vehicles for Shoulao, the Eight Immortals and Daoist legends such as Laozi and Xiwangmu, who are often depicted travelling to the Kunlun Mountains riding cranes and dragons. In conjunction with deer, lu and cranes, he, they create the rebus of liu he tong chun, 'the entire universe is enjoying Spring' symbolizing immortality.

清康熙 青花鶴鹿同春鳳尾尊
來源：愛爾蘭沃特福德克拉莫爾第九代沃特福德侯爵Henry Nicholas de la Poer (1958年生) 的收藏。