A FINE GUAN-TYPE FACETED VASE (HU) QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD

well-potted of canted rectangular section, the pear-shaped body supported by a splayed foot, rising gently to a slightly waisted neck flanked by a pair of tubular handles, covered overall with a rich, evenly applied pale green glaze, the unglazed footring with a brown wash, four-character seal mark in underglaze blue

Collection of Johanna and Frank Uhl and thence by descent.  The vase was purchased in Shanghai during the 1940s.

There is a small glaze frit to the rim and some scattered burst air bubbles. There is a small star-shaped glaze crack to one handle, otherwise the vase is in good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

While the form is derived originally from Shang and Zhou dynasty metal prototypes, the thick lustrous glaze and brown-washed footring of the present vase are evocative of Song dynasty ceramic renderings of the earlier form. The best known of the Song examples are guan wares from the imperial kilns which were much admired by the antiquity-loving Qing court.

A similar example in the National Palace Museum in Taipei is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of the Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum Ch'ien-lung Ware and Other Wares, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 82; another from the collection in the Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 63; and two other vases, one with a crackled and the other with a plain guan-type glaze, are published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. II, London, 1994, pls. 874 and 875. Two more are illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes The Zande Lou Collection, Art Museum The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005, pl. 32.