A rare pair of Chinese Imperial doucai 'cranes and peaches' rectangular jardinières
Qing...

A rare pair of Chinese Imperial doucai 'cranes and peaches' rectangular jardinières

Qing dynasty, Kangxi marks and period

Each standing on four bracket feet, the long sides finely painted and enamelled in mirror image with a pair of cranes by a fruiting peach tree on a small island surrounded by tumultuous waves, the short sides showing the pair flying over the waves whilst carrying fruiting peach branches, the rims painted and enamelled with stylised 'Shou' on diaper grounds, the six-character marks painted in underglaze blue in a line underneath the rims on the long sides with rising suns, 34cm wide x 21cm deep x16.5cm high (2).

The Property of a Lady

Provenance: acquired by the vendor's husband in London in the 1980s, and thence by descent.

清康熙 斗彩海鶴添籌紋長方花盆一對，青花楷書「大清康熙年製」款

女士藏品

來源：由賣方的丈夫於1980年代在倫敦購得，傳承至今。

The pattern on the present lot, with cranes and peach trees beside sea waves, is recorded in Qing dynasty archives as 海鶴添籌, Haihe Tianchou, which could be poetically translated as 'Cranes Over the Sea, Bestowing Longevity and Prosperity'.

The phrase 海鶴添籌 (Hǎi Hè Tiān Chóu) is a poetic expression symbolizing longevity, prosperity, and good fortune. The crane (鶴) is a traditional emblem of immortality and nobility in Chinese culture, while the vast sea (海) represents boundless life and enduring success. The phrase 添籌 (tiān chóu) conveys the idea of increasing fortune or strategic advantage.

Imperial porcelain finely painted with designs conveying wishes for longevity is generally associated with Imperial birthdays, when the various governors would send the palace gifts of local products from their provinces, including fine porcelain, as tribute.

Kangxi Imperial jardinières were made also in famille verte enamels and blue and white, in this rectangular shape, or faceted hexagonal, or quatrefoil form, with or without feet, always with the mark in a line under the rim, although most commonly bearing the variation of the 清 Qing character with vertical top stroke, identified by Peter Y. Lam as likely dating to the end of the Kangxi reign and into the early Yongzheng period. Lam speculates that such jardinieres, with auspicious motifs wishing for longevity, may have been produced for Kangxi's 70th birthday (1723), which was never celebrated due to the untimely death of the Emperor ((see Peter Y. K. Lam, ‘Lang Tingji and the Porcelain of the Late Kangxi Period’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 68, 2003-2004, p. 44).

Two related jardinières in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei bear location inscriptions on the base, in black ink, associating them with the Northern Garden, suggesting this as a possible intended location for this pair also. Specifically, object no. 009232N000000000 , inscribed '北花园楼上' (Upstairs in the Northern Garden), while object no. 012954N000000000, simply inscribed '北花园' (Northern Garden).

Few examples of exactly this shape and pattern are known, with two identical examples of single jardinières sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 November 1982, lot 203, and Christie's New York, 29 November 1990, lot 282. A jardinière of the same shape, but a lotus pond pattern, was sold by Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. 8th May 2009.

More recent related examples have been offered by Christie's New York, 21 March 2025, lot 1095, by Sotheby's London, 2 November 2022, lot 242, a pair sold by Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 November 2016, lot 19, and a single one by Sotheby's New York, 14 March 2014, lot 367. While jardinières of this type are rare, their appearance on the open market as pairs is even more exceptional, further highlighting the significance of the present lot