A FINE AND RARE COPPER-RED GLAZED MEIPING MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

with a tapering body rising up to high shoulders below a short waisted neck and slightly flared rim, covered overall in an even red glaze thinning at the mouth and pooling to a slightly deeper tone at the foot, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character mark within a double-circle

The meiping is in fine and excellent condition.
"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."

The use of copper-red glaze at Jingdezhen was revived by the Kangxi Emperor after a decline in usage during the late 15th century. With the effort to reproduce classic Ming jihong (sacrificial-red) porcelains, Qing copper-red pieces quickly outnumbered their Ming counterparts. Nigel Wood in Chinese Glazes, London, 1999, p. 180, notes how the French Jesuit missionary, Pere François D’Entrecolles (1664-1741), wrote letters giving detailed accounts of the copper-red production at Jingdezhen, the sourcing of the copper for the glaze, the recipes and the kiln location of the firing of these wares. D’Entrecolles was aware of the difficulties involved in the making of copper-red wares and his account confirms the high level of technical knowledge of the potters at Jingdezhen.

A Yongzheng mark and period vase of this elegant meiping form, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 24; another, from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, is published in Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Qing Monochrome Wares, London, 1989, pl. A507. For an example sold at auction, see a Yongzheng reign-marked copper-red meiping from the T.Y. Chao family trust collection, sold in these rooms, 18th November 1986, lot 95, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3614.

Vases of this form and glaze continued to be produced in the Qianlong reign; see a vase in the Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pl. 99; and another from the collection of Professor Ross Edman, sold twice in our New York rooms, 23rd September 1995, lot 426, and 18th March 2008, lot 151.