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A Prince's Treasure

120 objects from the Royal Collection return to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton

CHINA

Pair of vases with mounts

vases: 1730-50, mounts: late 18th-early 19th century

Porcelain with light blue glaze, painted in underglaze blue, copper-red and white slip and gilt bronze | 36.5 x 15 cm (excluding base/stand) | RCIN 186

A pair of pale blue glaze Chinese porcelain vases with French gilt-bronze mounts, With ovoid body, waisted neck with slightly flared mouth, and foot. Painted in blue with similar designs of chrysanthemums with red blooms, the petals overpainted in white, by a rock and a bamboo stem on which is perched a large bird, with lingzhi fungus growing by a bamboo, and above, a dragonfly. The gilt-bronze covers are moulded with gently domed, radiating petals on a pounced ground, with a berried acanthus finial. Surrounding this is a rope-twist moulding and plain dished edge, above a beaded rim, above a rebate for the lid moulding. Attached to the laurel rim band by the means of a lug with a screw is a pair of double-scroll handles in the form of snakes rising from the shoulder, two snakes at each side with crossed tails, with a pair of masks on the neck linked by swags filled with fruit and foliage; and below, a stepped base with two bands of milled rope twist between a plain deep torus moulding on a plain foot. A group of rare pieces are these pale blue glazes, among which are a number painted with designs in blue and red, which in France were often dressed in gilt-bronze mounts of the highest quality.


Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume II.


    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.