Galerie Nicolas Fournery

27/07/2026

A Chinese famille rose tea bol and saucer decorated with goldfishes.
Yongzheng period (1723-1735)
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In Chinese culture, the goldfish (jinyu, 金鱼) has long been regarded as one of the most auspicious symbols of prosperity and good fortune. Its significance is rooted in a linguistic pun: the character yu (鱼), meaning “fish,” is a homophone of yu (余), meaning “surplus” or “abundance.” This association gave rise to the traditional expression niannian you yu (年年有余), literally “may there be abundance year after year,” a wish for enduring prosperity that is deeply embedded in Chinese decorative arts.
The character jin (金), meaning “gold,” further reinforces this symbolism. The goldfish, literally the “gold fish,” thus became an emblem of wealth, success, and prosperity. Depicted swimming gracefully in clear water, it also conveys harmony, serenity, and the uninterrupted flow of good fortune.

23/07/2026

11/07/2026

A very fine blue and white “lotus scroll” baluster jar.
China
Late Transitional / Early Kangxi, circa 1660-1680
Provenance : from a French private collection of the south of France
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The robust baluster body rises from a short, neatly cut foot to broad rounded shoulders and a short cylindrical neck with a slightly everted rim. The exterior is finely painted in vivid shades of underglaze cobalt blue with an elegant continuous scroll of luxuriant lotus blossoms borne on meandering leafy stems. The neck and lower body are bordered with upright lappets enclosing petal motifs, those on the neck resembling flames and those on the lower body resembling tulips, with a narrow key-fret band beneath the mouth rim.
The decorative scheme derives from the long-established lotus-scroll pattern that became one of the most enduring ornamental motifs in Chinese porcelain. Closely associated with Buddhist symbolism, the lotus (莲, lian) embodies purity, spiritual perfection and renewal, emerging immaculate from muddy waters. The uninterrupted scrolling stems further reinforce notions of continuity, prosperity and abundance. During the Kangxi reign, this timeless decorative vocabulary was reinterpreted with exceptional refinement, characterised by brilliant cobalt blue, fluid brushwork and a balanced distribution of ornament over the vessel’s surface.
The vase retains several decorative features inherited from late Transitional blue and white porcelain, including the narrow key-fret band beneath the mouth rim, the treatment of the upright petal borders, and the robust baluster form, all of which reflect the stylistic continuity between the final decades of the Ming dynasty and the early Qing period.
The present jar is remarkable for the quality of its painting, the richness of its cobalt and the elegance of its proportions. Its restrained yet highly sophisticated decoration exemplifies the aesthetic ideals of the early Kangxi period, when potters at Jingdezhen successfully revived many of the finest blue and white traditions of the Ming dynasty.

07/07/2026

A monumental ‘fête galante’ punch bowl
China
Qianlong (1736-1795), ca. 1750
Provenance : From a European collection
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The scene depicted is L’Amour et le Badinage, engraved by Pierre Filloeul (1696–1755) after Jean-Baptiste Pater, being a variation of his Die Freuden des Landlebens. Pater’s original painting was recorded in the collection of Baron Maurice de Rothschild (1881–1957) in 1928.
A celebrated bowl featuring the same European subject was formerly in the distinguished collection of Mr and Mrs Rafi Y. Mottahedeh[1] in New York, and subsequently in the collection of Khalil Rizk[2]. Recognised as a masterpiece in both collections, it is illustrated by François Hervouët, Nicole Hervouët, and Yves Bruneau in La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a Décor Occidental[3]. While the present bowl features a Chinese scene as its counterpart, the Mottahedeh example is decorated with two European subjects, including Le Ba**er donné, engraved by Pierre Filloeul (1696–1755) after a painting by Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736).

03/07/2026

A massive blue and white kraak porcelain ‘Grasshopper and Butterfly’ charger.
China, Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1573–1620)
From a private French collection, acquired by the previous owner in London, circa 1960–1980
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The decoration belongs to the long-established Chinese caochong (草虫), or “insects among grasses”, tradition, a subject that flourished in painting from the Song dynasty onwards before being adopted on porcelain during the late Ming period. Rather than depicting a specific narrative, caochong compositions celebrate the careful observation of the natural world, where insects, flowering plants and rocks are arranged in harmonious balance. Such imagery reflects the Chinese appreciation of seasonal change and the vitality of nature, transforming humble creatures into subjects worthy of artistic contemplation. The butterfly carries auspicious associations with joy and longevity through its homophony with die (耋), denoting advanced age, while the grasshopper, admired for its vigour and recurring appearance with the changing seasons, reinforces the theme of natural renewal. Although no established rebus appears to unite these two insects as a fixed symbolic pair, their association belongs to a refined visual vocabulary that was particularly appreciated by Ming scholars and painters. Their adaptation to kraak porcelain demonstrates how Jingdezhen potters successfully translated literati pictorial traditions into decorative compositions intended for the export market, preserving both their elegance and their symbolic resonance.

01/07/2026

A very large blue and white Kraak charger
China
Ming dynasty, Wanli period, circa 1600
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The rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a broad everted flaring rim, richly decorated in bright shades of underglaze blue and painted to the interior with a very fine medallion enclosing a pair of Mandarin ducks swimming peacefully among blossoming lotus plants and broad floating leaves. Rising elegantly from the water is a rock, around which the lotus stems gracefully unfold. Stylised clouds animate the background, enhancing the sense of movement and creating an idealised aquatic landscape. The central scene is enclosed by radiating lappets with birds, fruits and floral groupings, including pomegranates and chrysanthemum below the bracket-lobed rim. The reverse is decorated with stylized lappets.
This splendid kraakware charger shares a border pattern with one illustrated in Maura Rinaldi’s Kraak Porcelain – A Moment in the History of Trade, Bamboo Publishing Ltd, London 1989, pl 87, p.99. The border pattern of a piece of kraakware is instrumental to accurately dating it, and Rinaldi dates hers to c.1595-1610. The border of the present and Rinaldi’s charger consists of large panels containing elaborately painted flowers (both feature chrysanthemum), fruit (pomegranate and peach) and birds, as well as a diaper border around the central medallion.
In Chinese symbolism, a pair of Mandarin ducks (yuanyang, 鸳鸯) represents one of the most enduring emblems of marital harmony, conjugal fidelity and lifelong companionship. Believed to remain devoted to a single partner, they became a traditional symbol of a happy marriage and are frequently depicted in Chinese painting and the decorative arts. Their association with lotus flowers further reinforces this auspicious meaning, conveying wishes for purity, harmony, prosperity and a long-lasting union.

15/06/2026

A large blanc-de-chine Dehua figure of Wenchang
China
Kangxi (1662-1722)
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Wenchang is seated on a pierced rockwork throne, his left hand which rests on a outcrop, the long flowing robes covering his other arm and exposing a foot, wearing two large belts, one inset with stylised jade plaques, an official hat and long plaits extending to his shoulders, the upper lip and chin with piercing for the insertion of real hair.
Wenchang (文昌) is the Daoist god of literature, further revered as a figure of general benevolence. He is the Chinese god of culture, literature, and civil examinations. Widely revered by scholars, students, and families hoping for academic success, he is typically depicted in the robes of a mandarin, holding a brush or a scroll. His full title, Wenchang Dijun (文昌帝君), means “Sovereign Lord of Literary Prosperity.” In Daoist tradition, he resides in the celestial Wenchang constellation in the northern sky. Devotees often pray to him before exams, and his temples may feature a “wish table” where students leave written prayers for success. Wenchang embodies the Confucian ideal of merit through learning and intellectual achievement in imperial China.

08/06/2026

A large famille verte ‘Hundred Antiques’ jar and cover
China
Kangxi (1662-1722) 🔴
Provenance : S. Marchant & Son, London W.B., acquired by previous owner circa 1980
SOLD
The Hundred Antiques (Baigu 百古), sometimes also referred to as the Hundred Treasures, constitute one of the most celebrated decorative themes in Chinese art. Rather than depicting a precise set of one hundred objects, the motif brings together a rich assortment of auspicious and scholarly emblems drawn from Chinese culture. These include the Eight Precious Things (Babao), the Four Treasures of the Scholar’s Studio—brush, ink, paper and inkstone—as well as symbols associated with the Four Accomplishments of the Literati: music, chess, calligraphy and painting. The repertoire further incorporates archaic ritual bronzes, censers, vases, books, scrolls, musical instruments, flowers, fruits and auspicious animals. Closely associated with the world of the scholar and collector, the theme reflects the ideals of learning, refinement, antiquarian taste and moral cultivation that were central to elite Chinese society. During the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, representations of the Hundred Antiques became particularly popular on porcelain, where they transformed the vessel into a symbolic evocation of the scholar’s studio and its cultured pursuits

02/06/2026

A fine pair of emerald green-glazed parrots
China
Kangxi (1662-1722)
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Naturalistically moulded in two halves, the parrots are perched on a pierced rockwork base, their wings folded against their plump bodies. The plumage is finely detailed and enamelled in a vibrant emerald green.
In China, parrots are found in the wild in the warmer southern provinces. Other birds of the same genus such as macaws, cockatoos and parakeets, were imported and kept as caged bird in China for thousands of years. In the Tang dynasty (618-907), exotic birds were brought to the imperial court from Indochina and Indonesia. Emperor Xuanzong adopted a talking parrot as a pet and Emperor Taizong commissioned a rhapsody to be written about his own prized parrot.
They have fascinated Europeans, as the exotic birds themselves were introduced as domestic pets during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, living curiosities acquired during the explorations of Asia and America. Parrots were much admired for their colorful plumage, their art of mimicry and their longevity. Parrots were depicted in the still-life paintings of the seventeenth century, along with underglaze blue porcelains and exotic fruits from China and others ports.
During Kangxi reign (1662-1722), parrot depicted in various colors of porcelain, were popular in the West because of their vibrant and exotic appearance. During the 18th century, the taste for parrots was further encouraged by the fashion for exotic orientalist, when having live parrots was also popular. Models of small parrots were found in the VOC wreck Oosterland which sank in 1697.
Among early examples of famille verte parrots are those mounted in gilt bronze as part of chandeliers which were installed in royal European castles, as the palace of Versailles.

01/06/2026

A very fine semi-eggshell figural plate
China
Yongzheng (1723-1735)
-Amsterdam, 1980
-From the collection of Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. J-98), 2002
-From the collection of Maude da Conceição Santos Mendonça de Queiroz Pereira, Lisbon, 2021
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This plate is reproduced in A.Varela Santos, Yongzheng Chinese Export Porcelain: A Private Collection, London, 2005, pp.54-55, pl.17
An identical plate, formerly in the collection of Raoul Warocqué, is preserved in the collection of the Musée royal de Mariemont ( Inv. III.D.712).
Another plate is in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum (access number 32.1089).
Such plates were often referred to as “sample plates” (assiettes d’échantillon) in the trade vocabulary of the nineteenth century. This term, used by Albert Jacquemart[2] was probably borrowed with varying degrees of relevance, from a term used for European porcelain, particularly from the Sèvres Manufacture. It originally referred to an “experimental” plate, whose decoration, by nature unique, was conceived to demonstrate artistic and technical virtuosity, to serve as a model for future creations, and to be displayed rather than used.
This decorative type, representing a mother and her sons, was produced in numerous variations, both in the treatment of the central scene and in the ex*****on of the borders. It was also painted in China in enamels on copper in Canton around the mid-eighteenth century, and was later copied in Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
During the nineteenth century, the Parisian art dealer Nicolas Joseph Malinet (1805–1886) was a specialist in these works. They were collected in France by discerning amateurs such as Adèle de Rothschild (1843–1922) and Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877), and in Belgium by Raoul Warocqué (1870–1917).