A FINE TEA-DUST GLAZED VASE, HU QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD

supported on a splayed foot rising to a generous globular body surmounted by a waisted neck flaring towards an everted mouth, the shoulders flanked by a pair of moulded lion head handles suspending fixed rings, and the body further moulded with three raised bands of evenly spaced parallel rings, covered overall in a deep olive-green speckled glaze thinning out and firing to a russet-brown along the raised designs, original carved zitan stand, Japanese wood box

The vase is in excellent condition, with only very minor surface scratches to the glaze of one section of the shoulder.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present hu-form vase is particularly attractive for its lustrous and deep tea-dust glaze. This type of glaze is especially successful when used on large vessels inspired by archaic bronze forms. Tea-dust glaze was an 18^th century innovation made with the precipitation of yellow crystal that stands out against a dark green background producing what is known in Japanes as chayemo or 'tea-leaf dust' glaze effect. Perfectly fired vessels in this glaze, such as this vase, have many small stipples that make the glaze appear especially rich and velvety to the touch. The inspiration for this vase may have been a smaller tea-dust glazed vase of similar form with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1980, pl. 152.

Compare a related tea-dust glazed Qianlong vase sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 23^rd October 2005, lot 306; another, from the Edward T. Chow collection and included in the exhibition One Man's Taste, Treasures from the Lakeside Pavilion, Galleries of the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1988, cat.no. C17, offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 3^rd May 1994, lot 121; and a third vase, from the British Rail Pension Fund sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 16^th May 1989, lot 54, also with a Qianlong four-character reign mark and of the period.

Vases of this form can be found in other monochrome glazes and also painted in blue-and-white decoration. For example, see a vessel covered with a streaked red flambé glaze in the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum illustrated in Keitokuchin jiki, Tokyo, 1982, p. 85, bottom left; a large Qianlong blue-and-white hu, without the concentric bands and painted with flower scroll design, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in the museum's catalogue op.cit., pl.163; and another blue-and-white vessel included in the Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Part 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 58. This type of large vase can also be seen decorated in the doucai palette; see a vase in the Chang Foundation published in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 161. 

For the archaic bronze prototype compare a hu excavated from a Western Han tomb at Qianping, Yichang, Hubei province, illustrated in Kaogu xuebao, 1976, no. 2, p. 124, fig. 12.