A rare archaistic molded Ru-type vase (Fanglei), Seal mark and period of Yongzheng | 清雍正 仿汝釉獸耳方罍 《大清雍正年製》款

Brimming with elegance in both form and design, the present vase is a fine example of monochrome porcelain of the Yongzheng period and alludes to the Emperor's deep appreciation and reverence for the past. While its luminous glaze features a subtle network of crackles in imitation of the fabled Ru wares of the Northern Song dynasty, its form represents an adaptation of the archaic bronze fanglei shape. Pleasing to the eye, the gentle curves of this vase testify to the craftsmen's ability to soften the somewhat austere archaic bronze shape to suit the sophisticated taste of the Yongzheng Emperor.

Monochrome vessels required the highest level of skill and precision in every stage of their production, from the purity of the clay and precision of the potting to the evenness of the glaze and control of the firing. This was especially true for vessels of larger dimensions and covered in glazes made in imitation of celebrated Song dynasty wares. The Yongzheng Emperor was truly passionate of the understated, elegant Song ceramic wares, which he not only collected but also commissioned the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen to reproduce and imitate. 

Vases of this imposing form and covered in Ru-type glaze are extremely rare, although a closely related one is housed in the Nanjing Museum, and illustrated in Gongting zhencang: Zhongguo Qingdai guanyao ciqi / Treasures in the Royalty: the Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 187 (fig. 1). The present vase also bears close similarity to a lei-form vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 88, and included in the joint exhibition Harmony and Integrity. The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, cat. no. II-60. Closely related in form and size to the present vase, the Palace Museum example is similarly decorated with molded horizontal bands and mask handles to the sides, albeit covered in a brown wash against a Ge-type glaze. 

Compare two Yongzheng mark and period vases, the first similarly covered overall in a Ru-type glaze but in the more commonly found fanghu form of larger size, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 26th November 1980, lot 366; the other covered in a Guan-type glaze with a molded chilong band to the neck and protruding shoulders, sold at Christie's Paris, 15th June 2005, lot 254.