A bronze vase, Qing dynasty with a Xuande seal mark.
For condition report contact specialist
The mark reads 大明宣德年製 (Daming Xuande nianzhi). Made during the Xuande reign of the great Ming. Tall elongated neck with a thick lipped rim, qilin dragon to the shoulder. Traces of gold splash decoration. Height 31 cm.
Wear.
Provenance
From the collection of Karl Wilhelm Gerdhem (1868-1932), Sweden. Thence by decent within the family.
Karl Wilhelm Gerdhem was a notable Swedish technologist and engineer, as well as a collector of Chinese porcelain. One of his most recognizable achievements would be his work with SAT and the other leading telephone company, Ericsson, making him one of the premier figures behind early 20th century telecommunications networking. He acquired much of his collection in the early 1900s in Beijing, during his negotiation with network construction in Guangzhou (1914-1915), before returning to Sweden at the outbreak of the WWI. When he returned to Sweden, he brought with him a rather extensive collection of Chinese Works of Art.
Exhibitions
To see other objects from this collection, see
Bukowskis, December 2011, sale 565, lot no 1527, 1347.
Christies, 14 Sept 2017, Live auction 15797. Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art. Lot no 719.
Sothebys, Important Chinese Art /21 March 2018 • New York,
Lot 702.