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PROPERTY FROM AN ASIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION the collection of T.Y. Chao, and sold multiple times at auction,
A RARE CELADON-GLAZED QUADRILOBED most recently in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2019, lot
‘MYTHICAL BEAST’ VASE 3616. For related archaistic designs on porcelain, compare
the chilong medallions carved onto a celadon-glazed baluster
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG vase from the Zande Lou Collection, later sold at Christie’s
the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue Hong Kong, 3rd December 2021, lot 2910.
Height 7½ in., 19 cm For an example of an archaic bronze vessel that may have
served as inspiration for the present kuilong-form handles,
PROVENANCE compare the handles cast on an Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC)
Denys Cowell, Brighton, circa the 1980s. bronze hu in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington
English Private Collection. D.C. (accession no. F1957.22), illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern
Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury, 13th November 2018, lot 75. Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections,
New York, 1995, p. 39, fig. 53.
This elegant vessel is unusual for its quatrefoil begonia-
shaped section and its archaistic relief-carved mythical ⊖ $ 80,000-120,000
beasts reminiscent of ancient jade designs. The stylized
dragon handles are also inspired by those found on archaic
bronzes, while the luminous glaze imitates the refined blue- 清乾隆 粉青釉仿古龍璧紋夔龍耳海棠
green wares produced at the Longquan kilns during the
Southern Song dynasty. Overall, the present vase synthesizes 式瓶
and recombines elements from the art of classical China into 《大清乾隆年製》款
a dazzling new design, embodying the Qianlong Emperor’s
interest in antiquarianism and artistic innovation.
來源
A few monochrome vases of similar form are published,
albeit of larger scale and lacking the relief decoration. See a Denys Cowell, 布莱顿，約1980年代
celadon-glazed example measuring 68.6 cm tall, sold in our 英國私人收藏
Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 858 and again 威立士拍賣行，索爾茲伯里，2018年11月13日，編
in these rooms, 21st March 2018, lot 535, and one with a 號75
crackled ge-type glaze measuring 31 cm in height formerly in

32 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11074 33