A BLUE AND WHITE VASE, HU JIAQING SEAL MARK AND PERIOD

of archaistic hu form, well painted in brilliant cobalt-blue tones with simulated 'heaping and piling', the baluster body encircled by two bands, the upper with continuous lotus scroll, the lower with a composite floral meander, all between slightly raised double-line borders, the shoulder set with animal mask and mock-ring handles, below the waisted flared neck decorated with ruyi-bordered stiff upright plantain leaves and a narrow wave band around the rim, the bottom register with a further wave band above a band of pendant petal panels encircling the high spreading foot

Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 809.

The vase is in very good condition with the exception of minor glaze firing imperfections and surface scratches. There is a 0.4cm wide horizontal glaze line along the rim. The blue is of a slightly lighter tone compared to 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."

This vase belongs to a group of blue and white wares discussed in Julian Thompson, ‘Decorative Motifs on Blue and White in the S.C. Ko Collection’, Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, vol. 2, p. 31, with decoration adapted from fifteenth century designs but used on a Chinese bronze shape ‘alien to the fifteenth century’. Vases of this form were first produced at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735), known painted in underglaze-blue or covered in monochrome glazes. A Yongzheng blue and white example, from the Keralakis family collection was included in the exhibition Chinese Imperial and Export Porcelain. Cloisonné and Enamel Wares, S. Marchant and Son, London, 2005, pl. 37.

While this design continued to be produced in the succeeding reigns, Jiaqing mark and period examples are rare. Compare a Daoguang vase of this type, illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 510; another sold in our New York rooms, 23^rd September 1997, lot 281; and a third sold in these rooms, 12^th December 1989, lot 354.