Adam's FINE ASIAN ART 28th,29th,30th Preview June 2022

44 A LARGE AND IMPORTANT COPPER RED ‘THREE MYTHICAL BEASTS’ PORCELAIN BOTTLE VASE CHINA, QING DYNASTY The vase rests on a flat not-glazed foot, with a globular body, a tubular elongated neck and an everted rim. Adorned in underglaze copper red against a white ground with three naturally rendered and lively mythical beasts, i.e. a fu Buddhistic lion, a pixiu and a bixie, their eyes picked out in underglaze cobalt blue. H: 40 cm Notes: 1. Pixiu 貔貅 ressemble winged lions and are regarded as auspicious creatures capable of drawing cai qi 財氣 , i.e. wealth. Bixie 辟邪 are the female of the species wards of evil and are believed to have the ability to assist anyone who is suffering from bad feng shui. Fu lions are also known as Buddhistic lions. 2. This type of ware, combining three mythical beasts with the iron red enamels, is widely recognized as having appeared during the Kangxi period. 3. A large pair of such vases is illustrated in David S. Howard and John Ayers, ‘China for the West, Chinese Porce- lain & other Decorative Arts for Export from the Mottahedeh Collection’, Sotheby’s, 1978, p. 86, pl. 43. 4. Compare with a related, though of smaller size, sold at Christie’s New York, ‘Chinese Art from The Art Institute of Chicago, 2019/09/10-17, lot 2, for USD32,500. Also see a related vase, that one measuring 42,5 cm, sold at Daguerre, Drouot Paris, 2019/06/12, lot 89, for €80,168. €10,000 - €15,000