A VERY FINE RU-TYPE BOTTLE VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

superbly potted with a slightly compressed globular body springing from a flared foot, gracefully rising to a slender waisted neck flaring to a slightly everted mouth, generously covered overall with a soft pale-blue glaze, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue

Acquired in China, 1886.
Christie's New York, 21st March 2002, lot 237.

City Museum of St. Louis, 1911-1943/44 (on loan).

The overall condition is excellent. The actual colour is very similar to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This vase is notable for its elegant form which is enhanced by the lustrous glaze that is in imitation of the celebrated 'Ru' ware of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). A slightly smaller vase of this type, from the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, included in the exhibition The Morgan Collection of Chinese Porcelains, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1907, cat. no. 24, was sold in these rooms, 30^th April 1996, lot 397.

Smaller Qianlong mark and period vases of this form, but covered in various coloured glazes include two pale-blue glazed examples, one from the British Rail Pension Fund, sold in our London rooms, 16^th May 1989, lot 48 and the other sold in these rooms, 25^th April 2004, lot 258; a rich lapis blue glazed vase, from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 25^th November 1980, lot 84; and another with a clair-de-lune glaze, in the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, Univeristy of Durham, illustrated in Laszlo Legeza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcolm Macdonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1972, pl. CV, no. 282.