AN ELEGANT GUAN-TYPE OVOID VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

well potted with refined simplicity, the curved ovoid body rising from a flat recessed base tapering at the neck and mouth, covered overall in a fine caesious glaze, draining at the mouthrim to reveal a pale brown mouth faithfully imitating Song dynasty guan ware, the foot dressed in a dark brown wash, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue

Acquired in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s.

Zandelou Qingdai guanyao danseyou ciqi/Qing Imperial Monochromes. The Zandelou Collection, Shanghai Museum, Beijing Museum and Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005, cat. no. 35.

Helen D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1950, pl. 174.

Apart from a faint 2.5 cm vertical glaze scratch to one side, the overall condition is very good. The actual colour is a bit bluer than the catalogue photo (depending on the lighting).
"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 elegant form was devised in the Kangxi period, and was rediscovered, with minor variations in proportion, in the Qianlong reign. Two similar celadon-glazed vases from the Qing court collection, both of Kangxi mark and period, one with, the other without crackle, are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pls. 127 and 129; another vase of Kangxi mark and period with a celadon glaze in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, was included in the museum’s exhibition Qingdai danse you ciqi tezhan [Special exhibition of monochrome glazed porcelain of the Qing dynasty], Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 75.

A similar crackled vase of Qianlong mark and period was sold in our London rooms, 26^th April 1966, lot 162, and again 12^th December 1972, lot 149, from the collection of W.W. Winkworth; another – or perhaps the same – Ru-type example was sold in these rooms, 29^th October 1991, lot 95, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2^nd November 1999, lot 503, from the collection of Robert Chang; two other related vases of Qianlong mark and period, one with, the other without crackle, from the Evelyn Annenberg Hall collection, were sold at Christie’s New York, 29^th March 2006, lots 114 and 115.