Page 60 - 2019 September 11th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art

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PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN While a profusion of new shapes for porcelain vases was
A FINE AND RARE RU-TYPE BOTTLE VASE already developed in the Yongzheng period, in the Qianlong
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD reign the number of variations multiplied. Geng Baochang,
Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing
elegantly potted with a compressed globular body sweeping porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, pp. 259 and 263 publishes
up to a tall cylindrical neck with a straight mouth, all over twenty related forms of bottle vases with pear-shaped
supported on a short splayed foot, covered overall in a thick or globular body and tall slender neck, which often vary only
pale blue-gray glaze suffused throughout with a fine network minimally in profile.
of craquelure, the foot dressed in a brown wash faithfully Aside from the present example, two other pear-shaped
imitating Song dynasty Ru ware, the base inscribed in vases of Qianlong mark and period with Ru or guan-type
underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark glazes are in the Zande Lou Collection, both included in the
Height 10½ in., 26.6 cm Shanghai Museum exhibition, Qing Imperial Monochromes:
The Zande Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, cat. no. 28,
PROVENANCE
with the neck more waisted, and cat. no. 33, with a more
Christie’s New York, 2nd June 1989, lot 188. cylindrical neck. The present shape, with a more depressed
The Qianlong Emperor is famous for his fondness for body, is otherwise very rare. Compare a closely related
Imperial stonewares of the Song dynasty (960-1279). He not vase sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot
only collected them but also commissioned new porcelain 804. Another vase of this type with a waisted neck from the
with similar glaze from the Imperial kilns for his appreciation. collection of the British Rail Pension Fund was sold in our
Under his reign, glazes imitating Jun, Ding, guan, Ge and London rooms, 16th May 1989, lot 48; and also a smaller
Ru wares, the five ‘official’ wares of the Song dynasty, were vase from the J. M. Hu Collection was sold in our Hong Kong
created to cover a range of carefully selected forms like in rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 111.
the present piece. The high level of skill in ‘recreating’ every
aspect of Song ware is evidenced in the foot which has $ 100,000-150,000
been left unglazed and stained dark brown to imitate the
prototype.
For the Song prototype, compare the Southern Song Ru 清乾隆 仿汝釉荸薺瓶
ware vase with slender neck and everted mouthrim from the 《大清乾隆年製》款
Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art at the British
Museum, illustrated in Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison- 來源
Hall, The British Museum Chinese Ceramics: Highlights of the
Sir Percival David Collection, Beijing, 2013, pl. 5. 紐約佳士得1989年6月2日，編號188

58 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART