Lot 8
  • 8

A FLAMBE-GLAZED VASE WITH HANDLES SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

Estimate
3,400,000 - 3,800,000 HKD
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Description

the pear-shaped body with rounded sides tapering to a gently flared lipped rim, the sides set with two simplified bird-head handles suspending fixed rings and joined by a raised fillet, covered overall with a thick glaze of intense crimson-red colour with a large purplish-blue streak transmuting into cream-white on one side, the reverse with a smaller blue patch, the glaze draining to bluish white at the rim and interior of the vase, the rim and handles thinly applied with a transparent brown glaze with streaks of milky blue, the base covered with a transparent light brown glaze with patches of grey and deeply incised with a four-character reign mark

Provenance

Sotheby's London, 26th April 1966, lot 110.
Collection of N.H.P. Huth.
Collection of Edward T. Chow.

Exhibited

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d’Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 176.

Literature

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 834.

Condition

There is a minute 1 mm flake outside the rim with an associated hairline crackling extending on approx 1 cm from it. The bottom of the vase also has a circular hairline above the foot, but otherwise it is in overall quite good condition. The actual colour of the vase is consistent with 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."

Catalogue Note

It is extremely rare to find a flambé vase of this form, although one companion piece, also of this size, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. I, part 2, pl. 139 (fig. 1).

The Beijing Palace Museum also owns two other vases of this form, but differently glazed, one with guan-type glaze, the other with a celadon glaze and relief decoration, both illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 249, pl. 78, and p. 276, pl. 105. A line drawing of this form is included among Yongzheng vase shapes in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 236, fig. 403: 6.