A FINE GUAN-TYPE VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

well potted with refined simplicity, the slender ovoid body rising from a splayed base to a waisted neck and slightly flared mouth, set with a pair of tubular lug handles, covered overall in a thick caesius-coloured glaze suffused throughout with a fine network of light grey and colourless crackles, save for the rounded footring dressed in a dark brown wash in imitation of the Song dynasty guan ware, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six character seal mark, old wood box set with a hinged brass bail handle

An old Japanese private collection, from a family active in the wholesale fishing industry since the Edo period. The collection was formed from the Meiji period (1868-1912) until the early 1930s

The vase is in overall extremely good condition. There are a couple of burst air bubbles to the interior, and another trapped bubble underneath. There is another pin-prck air bubble near the rim above one of the lug handle, and another minute pinhole approx 3.5 cm below the handle. There is another small pinhole in the glaze on one side and a few light surface scratches. There is some wear to the brown wash dressing the footring revealing a greyish body underneath.
"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."

No other vase of this form and glaze appears to have been published, although the form is recorded in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 234, fig. 10. As with many Yongzheng monochrome wares this vessel is a reinterpretation of celebrated traditions in both its glaze, which takes after Song guan ware, and the archaic bronze-inspired hu form. However the potter has taken greater liberty with the shape, which also resembles vases of olive form from the Kangxi period through the broadening of the neck and the addition of cylindrical handles.

Compare a vase of related form, but of slightly wider proportions, decorated with peonies in fencai enamels on a coral ground, also with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 215, pl. 44, and another, but with an iron red hall mark, sold in these rooms, 28^th April 1992, lot 174. Vases of this form continued to be made in the Qianlong period, but with a more slender neck and pronounced curve of the body; for example see a yellow ground example with green dragons, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included ibid., p. 442, pl. 124.