A RARE RUBY-RED GROUND FAMILLE ROSE BUDDHIST STUPA, MID-QING
China, 1750-1850. The shrine is superbly modeled and enameled with gilt highlights against a brilliant ruby-red ground with stylized lotus blooms borne on multi-hued vines issuing smaller flowers below Buddhist lion masks linked by pendant beaded chains. Surmounted by a lotus-lappet pedestal supporting a set of thirteen graduated Buddhist umbrellas, each tier neatly decorated with a narrow floral band, set atop with a skirted and a ribboned Buddhist emblem of the vase.

Provenance: From a private estate in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Condition: Absolutely superb condition with only old wear, mostly to gilding and black enamels within Buddhist lion masks and outlines of lotus-lappet borders. Some minimal firing irregularities and light surface scratches.

Weight: 2,086 g
Dimensions: Height 31 cm

Stupa, shrine and top are modeled separately and each connected internally by a thin layer of organic cement, which is still in place and firmly holds all three parts together. The stupa is supported on a multi-stepped square base decorated with minuscule and extremely fine bands of lappets, floral scrolls, key-fret, flowerheads, and diapered designs on a dark blue ground. The interior is overall applied with a fine turquoise glaze.

Stupas were originally memorial monuments built over the mortal remains of the Shakyamuni and other important figures. They represent the past and the present, and a symbol of Nirvana. The unique architectural form of the present example is strongly influenced by Tibetan characteristics. The square Mount Sumeru base is Tibetan in style, while the rounded dome is Indian in origin. Above is the harmika, consisting of a conical spire of thirteen layers, symbolic of the thirteen stages of enlightenment.

Expert's note: Wear, luster, and unctuous shine found on the present stupa all bear typical signs of the natural metamorphosis of a glaze during a period of around 200 years. The cement that holds the stupa, shrine, and top (fig. 1) firmly together is fully original. Both the inside glazing and the ingenious inner architecture of base and dome compare favorably with a famille rose stupa in the Palace Museum, Beijing (fig. 2). Finally, based on its distinct stylistics, the exceptional quality of the enameling, and the superb detailing, with its many different bands and borders, without exception neatly executed to meet the highest standards, this masterpiece must be placed firmly into the era of the Qianlong emperor. It was probably produced for the Imperial household by the Jingdezhen kilns, intended for usage either in one of the Imperial worship halls, or as a gift for a high-ranked Tibetan official.

Literature comparison: Compare a related famille rose stupa, dated to the Qianlong period, but of the larger type and with a yellow ground, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. See also Wang-go Wang and Yang Boda, The Palace Museum Beijing, New York, 1982, plate 218 for a pagoda in filigree work. The authors note: “As in all Imperial establishments, the only authority higher than that of the emperor was a religious and supernatural one. The Qing royal family practiced Lamaist Buddhism, where rituals and settings required the richest paraphernalia, such as the jeweled golden pagoda housing a statue of Buddha.”

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related famille rose stupa, also dated to the Qianlong period and with a ruby-red ground, but of larger size (44 cm high), and with the upper tip of the vase broken and re-stuck, at Christie's Hong Kong, in The Imperial Sale, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 29 April 2002, lot 536, sold for HKD 836,500, and another, dated to the Qianlong period, but with a pink ground and of larger size (44.5 cm high), at Christie's London in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 3 November 2009, lot 280, sold for GBP 229,250 (illustrated on the catalog cover).

清代中期罕見胭脂地粉彩纏枝蓮紋佛塔
中國，1750-1850年。這座佛塔造型精美，在明亮的胭脂紅色地上飾有描金獸面和纏枝蓮紋，頂部飾粉彩如意寶瓶形寶頂，下為寶蓋形天盤和十三相輪，每一輪都整齊地裝飾著花草紋。

來源：美國波斯頓私人收藏
品相：狀況極好，只有舊磨損，主要是佛獅紋鎏金和黑色琺琅部位以及荷葉邊有磨損。一些極小的燒製不規則和輕微的表面划痕。

重量：2,086 克
尺寸：高31 厘米

專家注釋：現在佛塔上的磨損、光澤和油光都是釉料在大約 200 年的時間裡自然變化的典型跡象。將佛塔、神龕和佛塔（圖 1）牢牢固定在一起的水泥是完全原始的。無論是內部釉面還是底座和穹頂的巧妙構築，都與北京故宮博物院的粉彩佛塔相媲美（圖2）。基於其獨特的風格、卓越的琺瑯質量和精湛的細節如十三相輪上的花紋，無一例外地按照最高標準精心製作，可以確定這座佛塔來自乾隆隆時代，應是乾隆時期景德鎮御窯廠專門為宮廷佛堂燒造的，或作為西藏高級官員的禮物。

拍賣結果比較：一件同樣為乾隆時期的胭脂地粉彩佛塔 (高44 厘米), 寶瓶頂部破裂重新粘黏過，見香港佳士得The Imperial Sale, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2002年4月29日 lot 536, 售價HKD 836,500, 另一件乾隆時期粉地佛塔 (高44.5 厘米) ，見倫敦佳士得 Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2009年11月3 日 lot 280, 售價GBP 229,250 (封面).