A FINE AND RARE COPPER-RED MALLET VASE, YAOLING ZUN MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS MAY BE REQUESTED BY SOTHEBY'S TO COMPLETE THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM AND TO DELIVER TO SOTHEBY'S A DEPOSIT OF HK$2,500,000, OR SUCH OTHER HIGHER AMOUNT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOTHEBY'S, AND ANY FINANCIAL REFERENCES, GUARANTEES AND/OR SUCH OTHER SECURITY AS SOTHEBY'S MAY REQUIRE IN ITS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS SECURITY FOR THE BID. THE BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM LOTS.

 



the finely potted body resting on a slightly splayed foot, gently rising to the rounded shoulders with a narrow fillet collaring the base of the tall slender neck, below a subtly flared mouth, the waisted body meticulously penciled in brilliant tones of underglaze red with four evenly spaced archaistic medallions, each centred with a stylised flower head enclosed within two concentric rings of radiating petals and 'S'-shaped motifs, all above a band of repeating upright triangular blades detailed with curls resembling ruyi heads, issuing from a horizontal chevron border within cobalt-blue lines encircling the foot, the slightly recessed underside inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark in regular script

Collection of J.M. Hu.
Christie's New York, 1st December 1994, lot 437.
Christie's Hong Kong, 31st October 2000, lot 888.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23rd October 2005, lot 351.

The overall condition is excellent, except for some minor trapped and burst air bubbles to the base. The copper red is of a characteristic crushed-strawberry tone.
"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 refined vase embodies the appearance of original designs on porcelain in the 1680s which were conceived by the artist Liu Yuan. It reflects the Kangxi emperor’s devotion to Tibetan Buddhism: the swirling three-section gakyil (‘Wheel of Joy’) that is framed by several bands of designs appear to also derive from the dharmachakra, or ‘The Wheel of Law’, a traditional symbol of the Buddhist doctrine. For example compare a gilt-silver dharmachakra, included in the exhibition Buddhist Art from Rehol. Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, The Chang Foundation, Taipei, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 1999, cat. no. 63 (fig. 1).  The form, which is characteristic of the Kangxi period, is discussed in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 187, pl. 332.

The pair to this vase, also from the J.M. Hu family collection, was sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1985, lot 20, and again in these rooms, 29th October 2000, lot 14. A closely related vase in the Shanghai Museum is illustrated in Kangxi Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 7; one in the Tianjin Municipal Museum is published in Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 130; another in the Baur collection, Geneva, is included in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 147; and a fourth example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, together with a slightly larger underglaze-blue version, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 119. Further examples of copper-red vases of this type sold at auction include one from the Frederick J. and Antoinette H. van Syke collection, sold in our New York rooms, 31st May 1989, lot 197; and another, now in the Meiyintang collection, published in A. de Boulay, Christie’s Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, pl. 5, and in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1706, sold at Christie’s London, 8th April 1981, lot 33, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 15th September 2009, lot 422. An underglaze-blue example, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, Hong Kong, 2000, vol. 3, pl. 11.

The underglaze-red decorated porcelains of the Kangxi period represent the re-establishment of the mastery and advancement of techniques and creativity within the imperial kilns. Underglaze-red designs had been virtually abandoned after the Xuande reign (1426-35) of the early Ming dynasty, probably due to the high failure rate, and it was only in the 1670s that it was fully mastered and revived. The proficiency of the craftsmen in the medium is evident in the precision of the pencil-thin lines, lacking the soft haziness that is characteristic of that seen on most Ming wares.