Page 41 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

This remarkable vase, with its harmonious combination celadon color, the pure reduction firing technique required to
of form, carving, design, and glaze, is a characteristic achieve the said watery blue-green tone – perhaps due to its
imperial product of the Qianlong period (1736-1795), when difficulty – appears to have been lost in the Yuan (1271-1368)
Tang Ying (1682-1756) was the supervisor of the imperial and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, and it was not until the
kilns in Jingdezhen. It was a period when the expectations Qing dynasty that it was revived.
on a piece of porcelain were set to the highest level, with Fig. 1 A carved celadon-glazed bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong, offered at Sotheby’s
every aspect of a vessel precisely calculated and planned The Qianlong Emperor is well-known for his appreciation of Hong Kong, 8th April 2011, lot 3018
but, at the same time, endowed with a sense of effortless past traditions including his admiration of Longquan celadon 圖1 清乾隆 粉青釉刻仿古夔龍紋賞瓶 《大清乾隆年製》款，上拍於香港蘇富比2011年4月8日，編號3018
elegance. Monochromes of the early Qing period (1644- wares of the Song period. As a result, the Emperor encouraged
1911) are unquestionably of first-rate quality, and this innovative approaches towards celadon-glazed wares produced
vase represents the remarkable achievement of imperial in his imperial kiln. The high quality of the raw materials and
artisans whose refined and innovative approach to colors the advanced techniques developed at the imperial kilns at
and glazes, combined with attractive decorations, made Jingdezhen during the 18th century allowed potters to develop
the creation of elegant and beautiful objects, such as the different tones of celadon. Much admired by contemporary
present piece, possible. The only companion piece appears connoisseurs were the douqing, of a bright sea-green color, and
to be known to this extremely rare vase is one offered in the present fenqing, a pale bluish-green glaze. When applied to Related Qianlong period celadon-glazed examples carved another sold in our London rooms, 15th May 2007, lot 121.
our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 3018 (fig. 1). Both finely carved pieces, the thinning and pooling of the glaze on the with an archaistic design include a zun-form vase with A further example with a Qianlong seal mark in relief was
vases belong to a special group of monochrome wares raised lines and the recesses create very attractive contrasting handles, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 708.
that reflect the Qianlong Emperor’s fondness for elegantly tones as seen on the present piece. Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong,
shaped vessels decorated with deeply carved decoration, The intricate design around the body of this vase further 1989, pl. 145; a globular form vase with a long neck, William John Wilson (1908-1970) was the founder of Wilson
often in the archaistic style. demonstrates the Qianlong Emperor’s fascination in decorated with archaistic design in the same technique, Galleries, a highly respected art business that originated on
Michigan Avenue in Chicago around 1949. After a successful
archaism. Symmetrical dragons, characterized by interlinked illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics
Ceramics with celadon glazes have always been held in high IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 35, and sold at Christie’s Hong start, Wilson made a move to Highland Park, Illinois in the
esteem from as early as the beginning of their production angular bodies forming a patterned scroll, are typical of Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 736A, and again, 27th late 1950s, before eventually relocating to Santa Fe, New
almost four thousand years ago, and in the Song dynasty Eastern Zhou (770 BC-221 BC) ritual bronze design. See, for October 2003, lot 700; and another, sold in these rooms, Mexico in 1962. Wilson specialized in many areas of art,
(960-1279) alone, there was evidence of a continuation example, a similar dragon design on an archaic bronze ding 9th October 2007, lot 1522. Also compare a celadon- including Asian art and established a remarkable reputation
of imperial taste and style from the Northern (960-1127) in the Shanghai Museum, attributed to the late Spring and glazed Qianlong vase overall carved with an archaistic for being honest and professional. The present vase was
to the Southern Song (1127-1279) dynasties, culminating Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC), illustrated in Chen Peifen, motif, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection. acquired by Wilson on one of his many journeys in searching
in a superb clear bluish-green tone achieved on some of Xiashangzhou qingtongqi yanjiu [Study of archaic bronzes Chinese Ceramics. Monochrome-Glazed Porcelains of for exceptional artworks. It has always been treasured by
the finest wares from the Longquan kilns in the Southern from Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties], dongzhou vol. 1, the Ch’ing Dynasty, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A379; and him and was passed down in his family, where it remained
Song dynasty. Despite this longstanding admiration of the Shanghai, 2004, pl. 493. unseen for decades until now.

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