A SUPERB AND RARE CARVED CELADON-GLAZED 'PEONY' VASE, QIANLONG INCISED SEAL MARK AND PERIOD | 清乾隆 粉青釉纏枝牡丹紋撇口長頸瓶 《大清乾隆年製》款

This vase appears to be unique and it is exceedingly rare to find a monochrome celadon vessel of the Qianlong (1736-1795) period with such sophisticated carving. From its fine potting, translucent pale green celadon glaze and crisp peony scroll and supporting designs, this vase reveals the technical and artistic virtuosity of potters active at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen in the 18th century. It is truly a porcelain masterpiece that evokes a sense of effortless elegance, despite its design being meticulously executed and conceived in advance. Its decoration and glaze draw from the celebrated ceramic tradition of Longquan in Zhejiang province, and reinterpret it to suit the Qianlong Emperor’s eclectic taste.

Celadon-glazed wares are perhaps the type of ceramics most intimately associated with China; their origins can be traced back to the Bronze Age, and since then they continued to be popular throughout the Chinese empire. The brilliant bluish-celadon glazes created at the Longquan kilns had provided much inspiration to the potters of the Jingdezhen imperial kilns since the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644). By lessening the amount of iron in the glaze the Jingdezhen potters were able to create a cool and delicate celadon glaze that when applied on a white porcelain body resembled the translucency and texture of jade. A wide range of exquisite celadon tones were created in the early Qing dynasty, as a result of the Yongzheng (r. 1723-35) and Qianlong Emperors’ appreciation of Song dynasty (960-1279) porcelain. Much admired by contemporary connoisseurs was the douqing [bean-green], a bright sea-green colour, and the present fenqing [soft-green], a pale celadon-green glaze. When applied to finely carved pieces as on this vase, the thinning and pooling of the glaze on the raised lines and the recesses create a very delicate shaded effect and accentuate the crispness of the design.  

The elegant silhouette of this vase, its restrained decoration, subtle glaze and incised mark suggest it was made in the early years of the Qianlong reign, before designs became overtly elaborate. The imperial kilns at Jingdezhen were then under the direction of China’s most famous superintendent, Tang Ying (1682-1756), who strove for technical perfection. Tang’s exposure to the imperial art collections while employed by the Imperial Household Department in his youth, allowed him to study in detail the finest antique ceramics of the Song and Ming periods, which he aligned to the personal taste of the Yongzheng and later the Qianlong emperor. The luxuriant peony scroll on this piece, which is particularly crisp in its rendering, was adapted from the somewhat rough and rustic designs on Longquan celadons of the Yuan (1279-1368) and Ming periods. By adding tall lappets at the neck, precisely carved ruyi heads at the shoulder and covering the vase with a subtle and elegant pale-celadon glaze, the craftsman has skilfully translated the original Longquan peony design into the refined decorative language of the Qing court.

Qianlong vases with such graceful profiles and elegant designs are rare and no other closely related vase appears to have been published. This vase however shares similarities with some of the finest celadon-glazed wares made in this period; the crispness of its design can be compared with a small globular jar, with the reign mark incised and gilded, from the collections of Charles Oswald Liddell, Captain A.T. Warre, G. and N. Warre, and H.M Knight, included in numerous exhibitions and sold three times in our Hong Kong rooms, in 1981, 1999 and 9th October 2007, lot 1203; a baluster-shaped vase, in the collection of the Burton family, and later in the collection of Tom and Ruth Jones, sold at Christie’s New York, 29th March 2014, lot 2181; a larger hexagonal vase, with the reign mark in underglaze blue, in the Huaihaitang collection, included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 50; and a shouldered hu, sold in these rooms, 20th June 2001, lot 30, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 719.

A related pattern of lappets at the neck is found on a globular vase, also covered in a similar celadon-green glaze, sold at Christie’s New York, 22nd/23rd March 2018, lot 1544; a reticulated hexagonal vase, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 122; and its pair sold in our New York rooms, 12th June 1984, lot 292, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 516. 

本瓶塑形靜雅，粉青釉透亮瑩潤，牡丹紋清晰利落，展示十八世紀景德鎮宮廷御作坊瓷匠之超卓造詣，雖經精心構思而施工謹慎，然而渾然天成，不帶匠氣。此瓶紋飾及釉色取靈感自浙江龍泉窰出品，然而器形則見新穎，迎合乾隆帝之喜好。

青釉陶瓷，於中國歷史悠久，最早可遠溯至青銅時期，多年來深受歡迎。龍泉窰青釉，明亮清麗，自早明以來啓發景德鎮御窰瓷匠。窰工篩減宋代龍泉釉中鐵質，乃得如斯水瑩青釉，色如美玉。

雍正及乾隆二帝喜愛宋瓷，故此清初時期燒成各色青釉，豆青，呈明快海綠色調；粉青，呈淡藍綠色，於當時均深受推崇。刻花或浮雕紋飾，高低起伏，高處釉料較薄、低處則釉聚，形成細緻明暗效果，更顯紋飾分明。

本瓶器形典雅，紋飾含蓄，帶刻款，故此可推斷為乾隆早期，紋飾未曾發展至更爲繁複之時。當時景德鎮御窰由史上最聞名之督陶官唐英（1682-1756年）監督，唐英早年鑽研陶務，十六歲供役於內務府，因此得以精研宋明瓷器臻品，並迎合雍正及乾隆二帝品味，發展各款珍器。本品蓮紋瑰麗分明，取材自較爲樸雅之元明龍泉青釉器，瓶頸葉紋、瓶肩如意頭等，以及粉青釉色，均為藝匠原創，以切合清宮喜好瑰麗繁華之品味。

本乾隆瓶造型秀麗，紋飾優雅，如此佳品極爲珍罕，據現時記載並無近例，唯可比較同期其他青釉器：紋飾利落，可比較一小罐，描金及刻款，出自Charles Oswald Liddell、Captain A.T. Warre、G. and N. Warre及H.M Knight收藏，曾多次展覽，三度售於香港蘇富比，先後為1981、1999年及2007年10月9日，編號1203；另比一例，出自Burton家族收藏，後轉入Tom 及Ruth Jones收藏，售於紐約佳士得2014年3月29日，編號2181；懷海堂收藏一六方瓶例，尺寸較大，釉下青花年款，曾展於. 《機暇清賞－－懷海堂藏清代御窰瓷缾》，香港中文大學文物館，香港，2007年，圖版50；一壺例售於倫敦蘇富比2001年6月20日，編號30，後易手於香港蘇富比2007年4月8日，編號719。再比一瓶例，牡丹紋飾，浮雕年款，售於巴黎佳士得2019年6月12日，編號126。

此外尚可比較數例，其一瓶腹渾圓，青釉與本品相近，售於紐約佳士得2018年3月22/23日，編號1544；其二飾玲瓏透花，六方瓶型，現藏於北京故宮博物院，圖載於《故宮珍藏康雍乾瓷器圖錄》，香港，1989年，圖版122；與該例成對之瓶，則售於紐約蘇富比1984年6月12日，編號292，後易手於香港蘇富比2005年5月2日，編號516。