Page 127 - 2021 March 18 to 19th, Important Chinese Works of Art, Christie's New York City

The link between the current vase, its long-necked copper
red-decorated companion, and Kangxi peach-bloom-glazed
porcelains suggests that they were of particular importance.
A considerable amount of research has been undertaken
into Kangxi peach-bloom vessels and, as mentioned above,
some scholars have suggested that they may have been
chosen as gifts bestowed by the emperor on selected
members of the court as special tokens imperial favour.
Both the peach-bloom glaze and underglaze copper red
decoration provided significant challenges to the craftsmen
at the imperial kilns, and the similarity in shape and related
decoration may suggest that vases, like the current vessel,
enjoyed analogous status at court.

It is noteworthy that the current rare vase and the three
similar vessels in museum collections, as well as the rare
long-necked copper red-decorated vases in the Insley Blair
collection are decorated with a type of three-clawed dragon
that is very different from the dragons which decorate the
majority of Kangxi porcelains. The three-clawed copper
red dragons are distinctively archaistic in appearance,
and accord well with the Kangxi emperor’s acknowledged
admiration for antiques. The emperor was a great collector
of antiques and the items made for his court often reflected
his interest. This is particularly true in the case of imperial
ceramics where inspiration from the latter part of the
Bronze Age was particularly prevalent. The current vase
may, therefore, be closely linked to the Kangxi emperor’s
personal tastes.