| Well painted triple gourd vase originally decorated in "Chinese taste" with stylized Taoist masks in iron red on a blue ground on either side of the two larger bulbous areas, Chinese characters on the two sides of the third bulbous area, blooming flowers on a gold ground in between the medallions on the side of the vase, a lime green band in the center, a curling lime green dragon encircling the footrim above a band of fretwork, a band of plantains on the neck, the mouthrim surrounded by a double band in underglaze blue, the base unmarked. Kangxi. 9 7/8 in.
Provenance: Maimi, Florida Collection
Beginning in the 17th C blue and white Chinese porcelains brought to Holland by the East Indies Company were often decorated in workshops that added to their original designs or painted over scenes using different colors to meet the "Western" taste of the European market. Referred to as "Clobbered" wares, after the new decorations were painted the piece was refired. The combination of the Chinese and European styles are well exampled in the current offering, which because of its triple gourd shape is unusual. |
