A large and rare blue-glazed handled vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 藍釉鹿頭尊 《大清乾隆年製》款

Christie's New York, 22nd March 2019, lot 1833. 

紐約佳士得2019年3月22日，編號1833

Decorated in a deep-blue glaze, the present vase is extremely rare. According to Geng Baochang in Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing Porcelain], the shape of this vase first appeared during the Kangxi reign and can be found in blue and white, famille-rose and monochrome, including those with ru-type and guan-type glazes (see ibid., Hong Kong, 1993, pp 267-8). Commonly known as lutou zun (deer head zun) or niutou zun (ox head zun), this type of vessel also had great variation in its handles, decoration and formal elements. 

See a Qianlong mark and period ru-type example in the Huaihaitang Collection, illustrated in Ethereal Elegance: Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, the Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong, 2013, pl. 25; a white-glazed example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 835; and a blue and white vase decorated with 'lotus' motif, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd April 2019, lot 3630. The form is also commonly found decorated with the 'Hundred Deer' motif in famille-rose, see three in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession nos 故瓷012353N000000000, 故瓷012424N000000000 and 故瓷012423N000000000).