A RARE UNDERGLAZE-RED AND FAMILLE-VERTE 'ROSE' VASE MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI |

the well-rounded ovoid body tapering to a short lipped mouthrim, elegantly decorated with two rose sprays rising from the base, each with a large bloom and bud in a soft pinkish underglaze red, borne on leafy branches with foliage enamelled in green and outlined in black, the recessed base with an underglaze-blue six-character mark inscribed in three columns, wood stand

Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 539.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28th April 1992, lot 158.

There is an approx. 0.5 cm hairline and several very short glaze crackles to the rim. The vase is otherwise in good condition with expected light wear to the enamels.
"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 exquisite, sparse and peaceful design in which blank white space is predominating, as regularly seen on album-leaf paintings, is highly unusual for Qing porcelain, and the chosen combination of underglaze copper-red and overglaze enamels is equally rare. The present design is, however, known in two similar versions, with the bud to the left or right of the main bloom, and a very similar design appears also on one other shape, on small water pots, where the buds or blooms can be painted in overglaze iron-red and occasionally other enamels. A very similar vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published together with a matching water pot in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 41-2, pls 24 and 25; a vase and two water pots in the Shanghai Museum are illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pls 83-5; another vase and water pot are illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol. 2, pls 148 and 149. Similar vases are also preserved in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ming Style Polychrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 2006, no. B 702; in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics. A New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 579; and one from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 737, sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 2.