A ROBIN'S-EGG GLAZED VASE QING DYNASTY, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY |

of gu form, the body with a bulbous middle section between two raised fillets, rising from a tall splayed foot to a trumpet mouth, applied overall with an attractive mottled turquoise-blue glaze

A Japanese private collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3720. 

Overall very good condition with light surface scratches.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The mottled glaze on this vase was first developed in the Yongzheng reign by the talented Superintendent of the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Tang Ying (1682-1756). In order to recreate the celebrated Jun glazes of the Song and Ming dynasties, Tang sent his trusted assistant to the Jun region in Henan province to learn from the local potters. Among the many types of glazes derived from those efforts are mottled purple ones, such as the flambé variety, and mottled turquoise ones such as 'robin's egg', which Tang Ying termed lu Jun or Oven Jun. This glaze is mentioned in Tang’s Taocheng jishi bei ji (Commemorative stele on ceramic production) from 1735. The colour of 'Robin's Egg' glaze is described as intermediate between the glazes of the Shiwan kilns of Foshan, Guangdong province, and those used by the Yixing kilns in Jiangsu province, but having a more beautiful mottled effect.