Page 43 - 2019 September 11th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art

The Yongzheng Emperor, who initiated many revivals of Examples with this variation of the ‘robin’s egg’ glaze are
earlier ceramic techniques, was particularly enamored with rare, however, compare a number of vases bearing incised
the variegated Jun glazes of the Song and Ming dynasties. four-character Yongzheng marks; a small flower receptacle
In order to have the glazes recreated or imitated he went in the Qing Court Collection is illustrated in The Complete
as far as sending potters from the Imperial kilns on study Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome
trips to the Jun region in Henan province. Among the many Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 187; a mallet-form vase in
types of glazes derived from those efforts are mottled the National Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Studies of the
purple ones such as the flambé, and mottled turquoise ones Collections of the National Museum of China. Qing Porcelain,
such as the ‘robin’s egg’ varieties. The Taocheng jishi bei Beijing, 2006, pl. 67; and a garlic-neck vase in the Zande Lou
(Commemorative Stele on Ceramic Production), written by Collection is illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes The
Tang Ying in 1735, lists the ‘robin’s egg’ glaze first in a list of Zande Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pl. 20.
the nineteen most popular types of wares produced by the The majority of meiping applied with robin’s egg glazes are
Imperial factory.
unmarked and are generally attributed to the reign of the
The present strongly mottled turquoise glaze represents a Qianlong Emperor or the 18th century, making this vase a
rare variation of the much more common ‘robin’s egg’ glaze. particularly rare example. Compare a larger (34cm) Qianlong
Characterized by more intense turquoise/brown contrasts, mark and period meiping sold in our London rooms, 10th
the present vase is reminiscent of a sub-category referred December 1991, lot 293, and again in our Hong Kong rooms,
to as ‘peacock feather’. It seems to represent an early 1st May 2001, lot 520.
Yongzheng version, before the more evenly dappled ‘robin’s
egg’ glaze came into use.

PROPERTY FROM A PENNSYLVANIA CULTURAL INSTITUTION 41