Page 18 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art December 2015 Hong Kong

A Longquan ‘arrow’ vase, The present vase is an outstanding example of the innovation and
Song dynasty remarkable technical perfection achieved by craftsmen working at the
宋 龍泉窯貫耳大瓶 imperial kilns in Jingdezen during the Yongzheng period.

A guan bow-string vase, It is exceptionally rare to find monochrome vases of olive-stone form
Southern Song dynasty decorated with a celadon glaze. It is even rarer for such form to be
宋 官窯弦紋瓶 accompanied by tubular-handles flanking the neck, enhancing its
elegant proportions. The large size of the vase is noteworthy, further
A famille rose coral-ground olive-shaped vase, emphasising the remarkable form, and making this vase a particularly
Yongzheng mark and period; Images courtesy challenging technical feat. The successful firing of the graceful tall
of the Palace Museum, Beijing shape combined with the jade-like luminous tone of the celadon glaze,
清雍正 粉彩珊瑚紅地牡丹紋貫耳瓶 makes this vase truly astounding to behold.
北京故宮博物院藏
The particular combination of short tubular handles on this vase form
is recorded as a Yongzheng period innovation by Geng Baochang,
see Ming qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p.234, fig.10. Culture
and art during the Yongzheng emperor’s rule featured tradition and
innovation, inheriting from the past and setting the stage for the
future. The refined quality, as well exemplified in the present vase,
demonstrates the Yongzheng emperor’s imperial taste and artistic
style. This is manifested in the graceful form, combined with archaistic
elements such as the tubular-handles and apertures at the foot, which
may be seen on Western Zhou dynasty bronzes and Song dynasty
vases, or the jade-like quality of the glaze, reminiscent of the finest
Longquan wares of the Northern Song dynasty.

See for example the slender bronze hu vase, Western Zhou period,
illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Dacidian: Qingtong juan,
Shanghai, 1995, p.134, no.464. See also the tubular handles and
green glaze on a Longquan vase, Song dynasty, and the apertures
on the foot of a guan bow-string vase, Southern Song dynasty, both
from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II),
Hong Kong, 2001, pls.1 and 102.

The body of the current vase is however, more comparable to the
classic olive or ganlan shape, where it is much more slender and
gracefully tapered to the foot with a flared mouth rim. This vase form
was admired in the preceding Kangxi emperor’s reign, and continued
to be appreciated by the Yongzheng emperor. However, in contrast
to the earlier reign’s olive-shaped vase, those produced during the
Yongzheng period tend to have wider and shorter necks, such as seen
on the current lot. A very high level of skill by a master potter would
have been required to achieve a successful balanced form, more so
with a vase of this tall proportion.

As an eminent and highly discerning connoisseur of art, the Yongzheng
emperor demanded the highest level of craftsmanship of all elements
of porcelain production. The remarkable even quality of the vase’s
subtle glaze, a perfection of the delicate, almost watery-toned celadon
monochrome porcelains of the Kangxi period, attests to this.