I nfused with a subtle elegance and technical perfection characteristic of Yongzheng porcelain, jars of this type are extremely rare. Under the Emperor's keen eye, together with his thorough knowledge of the antiquities in the imperial collection, a profusion of experimental glazes on various forms was developed to capture the beauty of celebrated antiquities with a contemporary aesthetic suited to the Emperor's taste.

The form of the present vessel is particularly unusual, with crisply modeled florets applied beneath a raised horizontal rib and everted lipped rim. The transmutation of the glaze as it runs over and around the florets is inspired by early Ming period 'numbered' Jun narcissus planters with 'drum nail' bosses, such as one in the Qing Court Collection included in the exhibition The Enchanting Splendor of Vases and Planters: A Special Exhibition of Flower Vessels from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, cat. no. I-04. Reproductions of the Song 'Jun' glaze began at the kilns of Jingdezhen during the Xuande era in the early fifteenth century and were revived on a larger scale under the Yongzheng Emperor, who was particularly partial to Song wares and commissioned copies of Jun wares from the imperial workshops in Jingdezhen. The technical ingenuity and high level of experimentation of the potters working at the imperial kiln is evident in the official list from 1735 as recorded on the Taocheng jishi bei ji [Commemorative Stele on Ceramic Production] inscribed by Tang Ying (1682-1756), the greatest Superintendent of the imperial kilns. This important work records no less than nine varieties of Jun glazes inspired by ancient specimens, of which five were based on Song originals that had been sent from the palace in Beijing to the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. Tang Ying is known to have gone to considerable lengths to emulate Jun wares of the Song, even sending his secretary, Wu Yaopu, and selected craftsmen to Junzhou in 1729 to work with local potters and thus obtain the recipe for producing Jun glazes. Imperial Qing dynasty Jun-type wares feature a hard body, a trimmed foot covered with a brownish slip and often an impressed or incised mark.

The present jar is exceptionally rare with only three other known examples of the same type. A similar vase is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. 故瓷018307N000000000) (fig. 1) and two have sold at auction, the first sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1979, lot 338; and another sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, on 19th May 1982, lot 270 and again, 18th May 1988, lot 243.

Compare also a Yongzheng period Jun-type jar, broader and squatter than the present example and without the florets or horizontal rib, in the Qing Court Collection, included in the exhibition Harmony and Integrity. The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2013, cat. no. II-56.

This jar was formerly in the collection of Joe Yuey, a well-known patron of the arts in San Francisco. Born in Guangdong province in 1906, he emigrated to the United States in 1923. In 1939, at the Chinese Village at the Golden Gate International Exposition, he was introduced to Langdon Warner, famed curator of the Fogg Museum at Harvard University. Yuey later credited his friendship with Warner for encouraging and guiding his passion for collecting Chinese art. In the 1940s, Joe Yuey also befriended fellow San Francisco collector Avery Brundage and was instrumental in raising funds and donating works of art that formed the foundation for the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Yuey also helped create the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, and frequently served on the board of the Chinese American Democratic Club. A rare Qianlong period celadon-glazed revolving six-necked vase from Joe Yuey's collection was sold in these rooms, 21st March 2018, lot 534.

本品窰變釉梅花紋罐兼具含蓄典雅及技藝精湛兩大雍正瓷器的特點，世所罕見。雍正自小接觸皇室收藏的古玩珍稀，眼光敏銳，瓷匠為迎合雍正的審美，不斷嘗試在各種器形上創燒不同色釉，追求名窰古意之餘，亦以新穎形制締造一朝雍雅。

此器形制殊異，唇口外折，肩飾弦紋，下貼花飾，通體施釉，釉水於貼花流淌積聚，在窰中形成絢爛彩斑，這種裝飾手法源於明初燒造、外底刻數字的鈞窰釉鼓釘水仙盆，如清宮舊藏一例，載於《瓶盆風華—明清花器特展》，國立故宮博物院，臺北，2014年，編號I-04。此器所施之窰變釉與宋代河南鈞窰關係密切。十五世紀初宣德年間，景德鎮開始重燒宋代鈞窰瓷器，至清雍正一朝更是大量仿燒。唐英是御窰廠的督陶官，從他在《陶成紀事碑》列出雍正十三年的工藝成果所見，御窰廠的瓷匠均心靈手巧，勤於試驗，製瓷技藝高超。此書還記錄了不少於九種按鈞釉創製的釉色，其中五種更是根據從北京特送至景德鎮的清宮珍藏宋代鈞瓷研製。唐英窮工極巧，竭力追摹鈞窰，甚至在雍正七年派廠署幕友吳堯圃帶領藝匠前往鈞州，隨當地陶工學習調製鈞釉的配方。清代官窰燒製的仿鈞瓷胎質堅硬，圈足施醬褐釉，外底通常刻印年款。

此罐尤為珍罕，僅有三例可比，臺北國立故宮博物院收藏一例（館藏編號︰故瓷018307N000000000）（圖1）；另一例售於倫敦蘇富比1979年12月11日，編號338；第三例兩度售於香港蘇富比，1982年5月19日，編號270及1988年5月18日，編號243。

另有一相類例作，同為雍正年間燒造，唯較本品寬扁，器身無貼花和弦紋，清宮舊藏，載於《雍正：清世宗文物大展》，國立故宮博物院，臺北，2013年，圖版II-56。

此罐曾為舊金山著名藝術贊助人Joe Yuey收藏。Joe Yuey於1906年生於廣東，1923年移居美國。1939年，他在金門萬國博覽會中國村認識了哈佛大學福格藝術博物館館長蘭登•華爾納，後來他將自己熱衷收藏中國藝術歸功於與華爾納的友情，感激華爾納一直的鼓勵和引導。1940年代，Yuey結識了舊金山藏家艾弗里•布倫戴奇，透過籌款和捐贈藝術品，對舊金山亞洲藝術博物館的成立做出了巨大貢獻。此外，Yuey又協助組建舊金山中華文化中心，並出任華裔民主黨協進會董事。他收藏的清乾隆粉青釉如意紋六孔瓶曾售於紐約蘇富比2018年3月21日，編號534。