Page 230 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong April 2, 2019 Sotheby's

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PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 清雍正 霽藍釉賞瓶
A FINE AND RARE BLUE-GLAZED BOTTLE VASE 《大清雍正年製》款
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG
來源：
sturdily potted with a globular body resting on a recessed
base and surmounted by a tall neck flaring at the rim, the 仇焱之（1910-1980年）收藏
exterior covered with a rich lapis glaze thinning slightly 香港蘇富比1981年5月19日，編號504
beneath the white-edged rim and ending neatly above the
unglazed footring, the interior and recessed base left white,
the latter inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a
double circle
33.2 cm, 13 in.
PROVENANCE
Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980).
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 504.

HK$ 1,500,000-2,500,000
US$ 192,000-319,000

This vase is an archetypal example of Yongzheng
monochrome porcelain in its gracefulness and refinement
of form. Under the emperor’s keen eye, which was steeped
in a thorough knowledge of the antiquities in the imperial
collection, a profusion of new shapes and colour emerged
which was only possible through the great technical
advances that were achieved by his reign.
The rich cobalt blue seen on the current vase is referred
to as ‘sacrificial blue’. This name derives from the use
of vessels bearing this colour glaze during sacrifices at
the Imperial Altar of Heaven. As outlined by Iain Clark in
Blessings and Guidance. the Qianlong Emperor’s design for
state sacrificial vessels, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, Hong Kong, 2019, p. 27, the Altar to Heaven was linked
with the deep blue colour of the sky.
The form of the current vase is extremely rare. However,
two larger Yongzheng reign-marked vases of similar form
have been sold at auction, the first in these rooms, 20th
November 1984, lot 486, the second at Christie’s New York,
16th September 1998, lot 393. For a Yongzheng reign-
marked monochrome vase sharing the same rich sacrifical-
blue glaze, see the olive-shape vase sold in these rooms, 8th
April 2011, lot 3001.

Mark

228 SOTHEBY ’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART