A PAIR OF RARE AND LARGE CHINESE CANTON FAMILLE ROSE 'HISTORICAL FIGURES' VASES

19TH CENTURY

Brightly decorated in enamels and gilt, painted with many figures beneath their titles, with many precious objects set amongst the figures including vases, musical instruments, fans, scrolls and endless knots, with applied chilong to the tall cylindrical ribbed necks, each with a moulded lingzhi spray to one side, with rich bands of butterflies amongst flowers and fruits encircling the rims and flared feet, 63.1cm. (2)

These vases are decorated with portraits of various figures from throughout Chinese history. Many of the characters are included in the Wu Shuang Pu, also known as the 'Table of Peerless Heroes', which was a book of woodblock prints compiled by Jin Guliang in the 17th century. The book contains forty portraits of heroes and heroines who lived between the Han and the Song dynasties. Figures depicted on these vases also featured in the Wu Shuang Pu include the Qin and Han dynasty Confucian scholar Fu Sheng (c.260-c.170 BC), the influential poet Tao Yuanming (365-427 AD), the military and political leader Xian Furen (c.512-602 AD), and the celebrated Han dynasty historian Sima Qian (c.145-c.86 BC), here portrayed under his courtesy name Sima Zichang. The vases also depict other historical figures not included in the Wu Shuang Pu, such as the beautiful Bao Si (c.792-771 BC), who was the concubine of King You of the Western Zhou, and the Song dynasty performer Qin Cao (1073-1098).

Cf. Christie's London, 9th May 2017, lot 131 for a pair of 'Wu Shuang Pu' vases with comparable decoration; see also Christie's South Kensington, 11th November 2015, lot 723 for another pair of vases with a similar design.