A PAIR OF FAMILLE VERTE 'IMMORTALS' MIRROR VASES, LATE QING TO REPUBLIC
China, late Qing dynasty (1644-1912) to Republic period (1912-1949). Of beaker shape, finely in polychrome enamels, with iron-red above the glaze, and underglaze blue to depict Xiwangmu (Queen mother of the west) with her phoenix, holding a ruyi scepter accompanied by two attendants. The figures are depicted surrounded by a craggy rock and a banana tree, and the full moon rising above scrolling iron-red clouds.

Provenance: Holzapfel collection, Geneva, Switzerland. This lot was acquired by second generation members of the Holzapfel family after 1990 and has remained in the family ever since.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing flaws such as dark spots.

Weight: 803.6 g and 763.3 g
Dimensions: Height 21.7 cm and 21.6 cm

Xiwangmu, also referred to as the Queen Mother of the West, is one of the most important deities of the Daoist pantheon. She is often depicted with phoenix, which, according to the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' (Shanhai jing 山海經), compiled during the Han dynasty, inhabited the Immortal lands of the deity, along with other fantastic creatures such as the three-footed crow, the nine-tailed fox, the dancing frog and the moon-hare who pounded magical elixirs in a mortar.