A rare purple-glazed pear-shaped vase (Yuhuchunping), Mark and period of Yongzheng

Dallas Private Collection, acquired prior to 1920 (by repute).

Shimmering in a delicate yet imposing purple-black tone, the present vase is an exceptionally rare example of its type. The Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) was notorious for his love of monochrome wares and his passion for innovative design. According to Taocheng Jishi Beiji (Commemorative stele on ceramic production) of famed superintendent Tang Ying, the Yongzheng Emperor commissioned wares from the imperial kilns in 57 different monochrome colors, most of which were either inspired by ancient classics, developed from Kangxi period experiments – as in the present case – or newly invented for the Yongzheng court.

While related purple vases are attested in the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, vases of this size, form and glazing attributed to the Yongzheng period are extremely rare: compare a closely related Yongzheng yuhuchunping of deep purple-blue tone, in Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing: The Huaihaitang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 15; another, also of Yongzheng mark and period, coated in a slightly more common sacrificial-blue glaze, sold at Bonhams London, 6th November 2014, lot 202; an unmarked 18th century black-glazed example sold in our London rooms, 13th November 1972, lot 152 from the collection of Peter Boode; and a closely related purple-glazed bottle vase of incised Qianlong mark, preserved in the Fondation Baur, in John Ayers, The Baur Collection. Chinese Ceramics. vol. 3: Monochrome-Glazed Porcelains of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Geneva, 1972, pl. A475. Compare also a smaller Kangxi period yuhuchunping of closely related purple glaze from the collection of T. Y. Chao included in Ching Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 30, the likes of which may well have inspired the present grand example.