A large blue and white Transitional "Rolwagen" vase, 17th Century.
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Of cylindrical form with a short neck and spreading rim, painted with a dignitary and his entourage including warriors wielding lances, and attendants holding a canopy, a further warrior on horseback with his bow drawn, flags and banners and a built wall in the background, all amongst branches, the characteristic V-shaped grass and scattered plantain, the scene divided by a mountainous landscape and rockwork close to the scene, all framed by incised borders enclosing foliate patterns and on the neck a collar of pendant petals. Height: 45 cm.
Slightly reduced at rim, crack extending from base.
Provenance
From the Collection of Captain Nils Gutaf von Heidenstam. Thence by descent.
Literature
Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Christiaan J. A. Jorg in collaboration with Jan van Campen, published by Phillip Wilson and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, London and Amsterdam, 1997, p 78, also see p 78 pl. 66 for a Rolwagen vase with a similarly decorated overhanging willow tree. Another two examples of Rolwagen vases can be found in La Maladie de Porcelaine – East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Eva Strober, Edition Leipzig, Berlin, 2001, p 32, pl. 9, as well as another example of the Chinese rebus, p 30, pl. 8. Also see for a selection of Rolwagen vases, Shunzhi Porcelain – Treasures from an Unknown Reign, Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis, Stephen Little, Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia, 2002, p 96, pl. 6, p 114, pl. 16, p 126, pl. 22.1.
More information
Rolwagens are known as part of the VOC export assortment and enjoyed great popularity in Europe as decorative objects. The Dutch word rolwagen (literally ‘rolling wagon’) may have been derived from an element in a scene which frequently occurs on these vases, namely a figure seated in a cart with two big wheels, the rolwagen.