An Important Large Chinese Export 'Mandarin Palette' Five-Piece Garniture, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period | 清乾隆 粉彩松鼠葡萄浮雕人物圖蓋瓶一套五件

The pair and one of the three baluster vases:

Collection of Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva (1900-1955), Lisbon (according to label on one of the pair of pear-shaped vases)

Christie’s London, 9th July 1985, lot 177

The Set of Five:

Earle D. Vandekar, Knightsbridge Ltd., New York

Sotheby’s Monte Carlo, 22nd June 1987, lot 1518

Didier Arron & Cie, Paris

Sotheby’s New York, 28th January 1994, lot 745

With its exceptional large dimensions, superb painting and lively relief work, the present set represents the very best of its type. Produced in the late 18th century, as Western demand for Chinese art was in decline due to changing tastes and competition from European porcelain factories, the capable painters and potters at Jingdezhen responded to market pressures with remarkable skill as exemplified by both the scale and execution of the present assemblage. Originally derived from Buddhist altar ornaments, groupings of three, five and seven vases, known as garniture sets, were first popularized in the West by the Dutch designer Daniel Marot (1661-1752). Placed on top of cupboards or mantelpieces these grand and refined porcelain forms, painted with figural scenes constituted the epitome of international collecting taste. The boldly potted forms, brilliant palette, cheerful rendering of the present group would have made quite a statement in any setting.

The palette and narrative subject matter on the present garniture is referred to as 'mandarin'. The word is derived from the Portuguese mandar which may be translated as 'command' a term used to describe or identify a Chinese government official. The figures represented in the colorful vignettes were considered to be courtiers and hence given the title mandar which evolved into English term 'mandarin'. The presence of the squirrels clambering among grape vines, mystifying to a Westerner, would have easily been recognized with China as a rebus conveying a wish for a long and fruitful life.