Garden Vase, Square with Relief Decoration on the Four Sides of a Tiger, a Lion, a Qilin, and a Dragon

Garden vase, part of a pair, square. Solid, only hollowed out in a spherical shape at the top. The vase shows on its four rectangular sides a panel decoration in relief, consisting of a tiger, a lion, a ch'i-lin (Chinese mythical beast) and a dragon. The collector Erdman placed a zinc garden fountain in the form of a putto on the vase, which the donor retained. Note: Vase A differs in decoration. Note: From the collection of mr R.H. Erdman, estate Terra Nova at Loenen a/d Vecht. Previously from the Chinese-style country houses built by Reinhard van Scherenberg in Baarn named Peking (1791) and Canton (1793). The building materials and garden decorations were imported directly from China. The villas were demolished in 1890-1891 and 1910 respectively. It could not be traced when the vases came into Erdman's possession and from which of the two villas they originated.