A blue and white 'Bajixiang' ewer, Qing dynasty with Qianlong mark.
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Of archaic bronze he form, the globular body raised on four columnar legs and painted in underglaze blue with the bajixiang ('Eight Buddhist Emblems') on detached lotus sprays, the waisted upright neck encircled by a lingzhi scroll above a key fret band, the shallow domed cover decorated with a matching lingzhi scroll repeated on the upright tapered spout, 'C'-shaped handle and legs. Height 10.5 cm.
Repaired.
Provenance
From the Collection of Klas E Böök (1909-1980), thence by descent. A Swedish diplomat and civil servant. Mr Böök first had a career within banking, that led up to the position of Governor of the Swedish National Bank from 1948 to 1951. His diplomatic career began when he was appointed head of the Commercial Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and envoy from 1947 to 1948. He was minister in Ottawa from 1951 to 1956, ambassador in Beijing from 1956 to 1961, also accredited as envoy to Bangkok from 1956 to 1959. Böök was ambassador in New Delhi, also accredited to Colombo and Kathmandu from 1961 to 1965 and in Bern from 1965 to 1972. He had special assignments for the Foreign Ministry from 1972 to 1975.
Exhibitions
To see other lots sold from the Collection of Klas E. Böök, see a Zitan Altartable with cloisonne placques, Bukowskis, Sale 649, lot no 981.
Literature
An example of a covered he of this design with a Qianlong seal mark is illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Taipei, 1968, pl.21a-21d; another from the Tianjin Art Museum, was included in the exhibition, Imperial China. The Living Past, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992, cat.no.94; and a third from Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet, was included in the exhibition Gems of China's Cultural Relics, Palace Museum, Beijing, cat.no.46.
More information
The covered he form is derived from a Zhou, rather than a Shang dynasty archaic bronze prototype. Julian Thompson notes in Chinese Porcelain: The S. C. Ko Tianmianlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, that these vessels were produced in the Qing dynasty to imitate the Zhou dynasty prototype, due to the imperial court's predilection for ancient objects. Excavations shows that the he was used as a vessel for diluting wine, although such Qing imitations were most likely used for decorative, rather than practical purposes.