Beschreibung:

A RARE AND EXTREMELY LARGE PAIR OF MOULDED FAMILLE ROSE 'WU SHUANG PU' VASESLate Qing Dynasty
Each vase of baluster form and decorated in mirror image, the body of each finely moulded and painted with the four historical figures Liu Chen, An Min, Dong Fangshou and Yue Fei, the shoulders moulded with the Hehe twins on one side, and the Star Gods Cai and Zi, all against a yellow sgraffito ground set with flowering stems, the shoulders set with elephant head handles suspending a fixed ring, stylised lappets around the foot, the rim with a key-scroll band above a pendent ruyi head border.
124cm (48 3/4in) high (2).Footnotes清晚期 粉彩模印無雙譜人物圖瓶 一對
Vases of this massive scale were first produced in the late 17th and 18th Centuries for export to the West where they graced the doorways of European palaces and stately homes. At the time they were typically referred to as 'soldier' or 'dragoon' vases, a name thought to derive from a historical incident in 1717 when Augustus the Strong of Saxony is said to have traded 600 cavalrymen, known as dragoons, for a collection of 150 Chinese porcelain vases in negotiations with Frederick the Great of Prussia.
It is therefore fitting that the famous general Yue Fei (1103-1142) has been selected for inclusion on the body of these 'soldier' vases, along with Liu Chen (220-265), prince of Beidi also depicted in military garb. The other two figures are the official and courier of Emperor Wu Dong Fangshuo (154-93 BC) and stone mason An Min (1050-1125).
The figures are taken from the Wu shuang pu compiled by Jin Guliang during the mid-17th century. The manual describes forty peerless heroes from the Han to Song dynasties. The descriptive texts reproduced over the body of the vase are also taken from the woodblock printed manual.
The text became a popular source of inspiration for famille rose porcelain of the late Qing period. Vases of the subject on this scale are known, for example, a pair of vases 131cm high depicting scenes from Wu Shuang pu was sold Bonhams Knightsbridge, Asian Art, 9 May 2022, lot 152. However, the moulded detail and craftsmanship of the present vase ranks high above other known examples of the subject.