A rare white-glazed soft-paste 'Shou' moonflask, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白釉漿胎壽字抱月瓶

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16th / 17th May 1989, lot 205.

香港蘇富比1989年5月16至17日，編號205

This rare flask displays the technical development and informed archaistic influence in Qing dynasty through its highly lustrous white glaze suffused with a faint crackle, combined with a shape based on Islamic bronze vessels. It represents a particular archaistic style seen in porcelains of the Qianlong period (1736-1795), when the Emperor's interest in archaic bronzes and antiques of all types encouraged potters at the imperial kilns to re-interpret the shapes and designs of classic wares.

Other soft-paste examples include a pear-shaped vase similarly decorated with a shou character to the body, sold in these rooms, 10th November 2017, lot 223; a moulded jar sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2022, lot 326, and a Qianlong mark and period bottle vase carved with various floral scrolls to the body, from the collection of J. M. Hu (1911 -1995), sold at Christie's New York, 23rd September 2022, lot 916.