Page 219 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

Exquisitely covered with an even bluish-grey glaze on a large
swelling form, this moonflask represents the signature works
of the Yongzheng period, whose deceptive simplicity made
the greatest demands on the potters’ aesthetic conception
and technical ability. In form and glaze it embodies the
emperor’s fascination with antiquity and the resulting passion
for archaism, expressed though borrowing from antiques
as a source of inspiration for innovation. Such even glaze
and perfect proportions on a vessel of this large size was
only achievable through the unprecedented refinements
in porcelain production which was due to Yongzheng’s
demanding standards and intense patronage of the arts.
From the first year of his reign, the Yongzheng Emperor
commissioned items from the Palace Workshops, whose
output changed in nature as a result. Simplicity of form and
absence of decoration were stylistic trends introduced by
Tang Ying (1682-1756), Superintendent of the Imperial kilns in
Jingdezhen. Under his supervision, research into celebrated
Song glazes such as Ru, guan and Jun wares saw the
re-emergence of monochrome porcelain covered in luminous
glazes to simulate the earlier wares on both contemporary and
archaistic forms.
In form this piece is inspired by much smaller moonflasks
of the Yongle period (1403-1424), which in turn found their
roots in Shang dynasty bronze vessels. While the flat oval foot
of the Ming original has been preserved, the Qing craftsman
has updated the shape by replacing the tapering neck with a
straight neck and increasing the size of the neck and handles in
relation to the body. These subtle changes provide the perfect
silhouette to display the beauty of the glaze to its full extent. Collection, London, 2009, pl. 44; and another painted with
The greyish-blue colour of the present moonflask is made in
imitation of Ru ware, one of the ‘Five Great Wares’ of the Song
dynasty (960-1279) and particularly highly regarded by the
Yongzheng Emperor. During his reign, vessels of various forms
that were either rooted in antiquity or uniquely conceived and
covered in a Ru-type glaze were produced. In the production
of the original glaze in the Song period, nature served as
inspiration for the colour and texture, the colour of which was
famously described as ‘the colour of the sky after rain’. The
swelling form of this moonflask and lobed handles, together
with the delicate blue tones emerging through the grey,
successfully continue the allusion to the sky in a tone suited to
contemporary taste.
No other closely related example appears to have been
published, although Yongzheng mark and period moonflasks
of this form are known with various Song-inspired glazes
and decoration; a guan-type example of similar size, was
offered at Christie’s New York, 23rd March 2011, lot 2081; a
smaller celadon glazed version, but carved with lotus blooms,
in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the
Museum’s exhibition Qing Kang Yong Qian ming ci tezhan/
K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware from
the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Museum Palace, 1986, cat.
no. 61; and another from the collections of Sir Frederick Bruce
and Robert C. Bruce, sold twice in our London rooms, 12th May
1953, lot 96, and again, 11th December 1984, lot 437, from the
Raymond F.A. Riesco collection, and sold two further times,
once at Christie’s New York, 5th June 1986, lot 353, and again
in our New York rooms, 16th/17th September 2014, lot 157.
Blue and white decorated moonflasks of this form are well-
known, such as a bird-and-flower painted moonflask from the
Sir Percival David collection, and now in the British Museum,
London, illustrated in Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall,
Chinese Ceramics. Highlights from the Sir David Percival
a Ming-style composite flower scroll in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, published in Gugong bowuguan can Qingdai yuyao
ciqi [Qing porcelains from the imperial kilns preserved in the
Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. I, bk. 2, pl. 41.
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 217