Page 134 - Bonhams Chiense Paintings New York July 21 2020

156
TWO CELADON-GLAZED JARS
Qianlong sealmark and of the period
Each potted with an ovoid body rising from a recessed foot to a broad
shoulder and short neck, the sides molded with opposing reversed
C-shaped relief motifs, covered overall except for the unglazed foot
pad with a pale sea-green glaze, the six-character seal mark in
underglaze blue centering the foot, with silver-wire inlaid covers and
stands.
7 1/2in (19 cm) high (6).

US$40,000 - 60,000

清乾隆 粉青釉月牙耳罐兩件 《大清乾隆年製》款

The earliest jars of this form, with sleek, elegant profiles and unusual
reversed C-shaped relief motifs date to the Kangxi period. A rare
Kangxi example of this design is illustrated in K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng
and Ch’ien-lung: Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the
National Museum Palace, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 27.

Jars of this form are sometimes called yueya’er guan literally meaning
jar with crescent moon handles because the reversed C-shaped
motifs evoke the shape of the new moon. Those with covers are also
sometimes called riyue guan, meaning sun and moon jar, with the
round cover representing the sun.

A similar Qianlong mark and period jar without the cover in the Hong
Kong Museum of Art is illustrated in The Wonders of the Potter’s
Palette, 1984, Catalogue no. 79. Similar Qianlong mark and period jars
with their original covers are illustrated in Empty Vessels, Replenished
Minds: The Culture, Practise, and Art of Tea, National Palace Museum,
Taipei, 2002, p. 178, no. 156, where it is referred to as a tea caddy;
Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong
Reigns, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 68; and
by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection,
London, 1994, vol. II, p. 211, no. 866.

A Qianlong mark and period example sold at Sotheby’s New York, 12
September 2018, lot 134; and another without a cover at Christie’s
New York, 22 March 2018, lot 615.

132 | BONHAMS