The collection of Dr. Wu Kiuan (1910-1997) covers nearly four millennia of Chinese art and culture, from the utilitarian wares of the first Neolithic culture in the Yellow River basin to the imperial porcelain treasures of China's last imperial dynasty. Dr. Wu's collection is extensive, setting him apart from other private pools of Chinese art that were integrated in the mid-twentieth century. His collection is one of the last of the most important collections of Chinese art in Europe today.
Here we've chosen some fine bowls and dishes from this collector's treasure list, stepping onto the journey of Chinese culture.
A Yellow-glazed Chrysanthemum' Dish, Mark and Period of Yongzheng
- the base with a six-character reign mark within a double circle in underglaze blue
- Diameter :17.7 cm, 7 in.
This dish is well-potted, with narrow fluted edges, and even pointed points that resemble the petals of a chrysanthemum flower. It is a member of an elite class of Yongzheng period porcelain (1723-1735). It is known that the Yongzheng Emperor ordered forty pieces of each color of chrysanthemum dishes from Nian Xiyao, the supervisor of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. The development of chrysanthemum-shaped porcelain wares during the Yongzheng period is discussed by Hajni Elias in "In the path of Tao Qian: "Chrysanthemum" wares of the Yongzheng emperor," Arts of Asia, May-June 2015, pp. 72–85. She hypothesizes that these items may reveal the Emperor's admiration for Tao Qian, one of China's poets(365-427).
He is renowned for leading a pastoral lifestyle and for having written the so-called "farmstead poetry" (tianyuan shi), which was influenced by his chrysanthemum garden as well as by the natural landscape and pastoral scenes. He was a scholar-official who retired to his hometown of Chaisang, present-day Jiujiang in Jiangxi Province. These ideas were especially pertinent to the Yongzheng Emperor, who supported labor and agriculture.
A Rare Famille-rose 'Hibiscus' Dish, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong
- inscribed on the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue
- Diameter 13.7 cm, 5⅜ in.
This dish is the product of a painterly style that gained popularity during the Kangxi dynasty (r. 1662–1722) and was developed during the Yongzheng (r. 1723–1735) and Qianlong (r. 1736–1795) emperors. It is delicately painted in vivid enamels on a background of spotless white porcelain. The pink hibiscus flowers on this plate quickly catch the eye because of how freely they bend and twist, as though they were being stirred by a light breeze. This dish is the product of a painterly style that gained popularity during the Kangxi dynasty (r. 1662–1722) and was developed during the Yongzheng (r. 1723–1735) and Qianlong (r. 1736–1795) emperors. It is delicately painted in vivid enamels on a background of spotless white porcelain. The pink hibiscus flowers on this plate quickly catch the eye because of how freely they bend and twist, as though a light breeze was stirring them.
A Rare Coral-ground Famille-verte 'Floral' Bowl, Yuzhi Mark and Period of Yongzheng
- the base with a four-character yuzhi mark within a double square in underglaze blue
- Diameter 14.6 cm, 5¾ in.
This bowl is an exceptionally uncommon and unique specimen in a well-known category of goods. Yongzheng nian zhi, six-character Yongzheng markings, and Qianlong seal marks are used to identify bowls with this sort of elaborate flower decoration on a coral-red background produced in the late Kangxi and early Yongzheng dynasty and resurrected during that period.
The phrase "made to imperial order," or "yu zhi," is used instead of the more generic "produced during the period of," or "nian zhi," and it is consistent with the method of marking used at the imperial enameling workshops in Beijing, which affixed yu zhi marks in enamel colors.
A Rare Large Famille-rose 'Chrysanthemum and Butterfly' Dish, Mark and Period of Yongzheng
- the base with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue within a double circle
- Diameter 51 cm, 20¼ in.
This big charger showcases the unique enamel patterns used during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor. It is exquisitely painted with pink, crimson, and yellow chrysanthemum flowers in bloom growing beside bamboo and with butterflies in flight above. The term "changzha" (literally, "long branch"), a homophone of the phrase "Eternal Governance," refers to a group of large Yongzheng period dishes, each brilliantly painted with a distinctive asymmetrical arrangement of flowering or fruiting branches rising from the foot and continuing over the rim onto the interior.
The artistic aesthetic of Yongzheng period porcelain changzha dishes is noteworthy. Chrysanthemum blooms are painted in the manner of one of China's most renowned painters, Yun Shouping (1633-1690), one of the early Qing era's "Six Masters." Flowers painted in the mogu, or "boneless," manner, which emphasizes washes rather than lines, are often linked with Yun's distinctive painting technique. Yun's paintings were copied on porcelain as a result of the Yongzheng Emperor's admiration for his art, resulting in beautiful and bright floral motifs.
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