A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN FAMILLE-VERTE 'FIGURAL' COVERED WALL FOUNTAINKangxi Period
Thickly potted and of baluster form with a molded 'lion mask' spout, the body painted with three ladies and a boy on a terrace being observed from afar by a man on a balcony, surmounted by a stepped cover enameled with a ruyi border and auspicious emblems.
21 1/2in (54.6cm) high, overallFootnotesProvenance:
Earle D Vandekar of Knightsbridge, Downingtown, PA, 1990
The present fountain draws its form from European metal wares specifically designed for the Dutch market. They likely originated in the 17th century, coinciding with a thriving market for famille-verte porcelains exported to Holland through the V.O.C. It is likely that fountains of this type were paired with a basin. Chinese export wall fountains are closely related to fountains decorated with dolphins, crabs and crustaceans. The latter were used during Roman Catholic mass for ritual hand washing and involved a ewer (or a vessel with a tap) accompanied by a basin to catch the water (see William R. Sargent Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, New Haven, 2012, p. 178, cat. no.82).
Compare a similarly decorated and shaped Kangxi period famille-verte wall fountain and cover sold at Christie's, London, 16 November 1998. An example of the other type was sold at Bonhams, London, 22 March 2005, lot 129.
A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN FAMILLE-VERTE 'FIGURAL' COVERED WALL FOUNTAINKangxi Period
Thickly potted and of baluster form with a molded 'lion mask' spout, the body painted with three ladies and a boy on a terrace being observed from afar by a man on a balcony, surmounted by a stepped cover enameled with a ruyi border and auspicious emblems.
21 1/2in (54.6cm) high, overallFootnotesProvenance:
Earle D Vandekar of Knightsbridge, Downingtown, PA, 1990
The present fountain draws its form from European metal wares specifically designed for the Dutch market. They likely originated in the 17th century, coinciding with a thriving market for famille-verte porcelains exported to Holland through the V.O.C. It is likely that fountains of this type were paired with a basin. Chinese export wall fountains are closely related to fountains decorated with dolphins, crabs and crustaceans. The latter were used during Roman Catholic mass for ritual hand washing and involved a ewer (or a vessel with a tap) accompanied by a basin to catch the water (see William R. Sargent Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, New Haven, 2012, p. 178, cat. no.82).
Compare a similarly decorated and shaped Kangxi period famille-verte wall fountain and cover sold at Christie's, London, 16 November 1998. An example of the other type was sold at Bonhams, London, 22 March 2005, lot 129.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
