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Finely painted with luscious flowers in a variegated palette of of the imperial palace. With soft curvaceous sides that
grays, reds and blue, the present waterpot represents a well turn gently inward at the mouth, the present pingguozun
preserved piece of history; an homage to the creative vision (‘apple pot’) is a particularly fine example of this imperial
and aesthetic sensibilities of the Kangxi Emperor himself. group. Reminiscent of the cardioid shape formed by pooling
sunlight, the pingguozun is not only a delight to hold and
Ascending the throne in early 1661, the Kangxi Emperor behold but also a testament to the innovation and technical
consolidated the work of his father Shizu (the Shunzhi precision of the imperial workshops.
Emperor), further unifying China and establishing a century-
long period of peace, prosperity and artistic production Compare a number of similar waterpots of this shape and
commonly known as the High Qing era (ca. 1683-1799). decoration preserved around the world, including one
Under his careful patronage, craftsmen at the imperial directly from the Qing Court Collection preserved at the
kilns of Jingdezhen were pushed to new limits, producing Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng.
new wares with innovative forms, designs and glazes, and Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection,
reviving ancient decorative techniques long since abandoned Beijing, 1989, pl. 22; another in the Shanghai Museum,
by the late Ming dynasty. published in Underglaze Blue and Red. Elegant Decoration
of Porcelain from Yuan, Ming and Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.
The present lot typifies this period of creativity. Skillfully 118; and another, from the Meiyintang Collection, included
painted with intricate scrolling blooms, the present in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang
waterpot’s tranquil design relies on the rich and varied tones Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 733, where the author
of copper red underglaze. Copper red was, and arguably identifies the stylized flower sprays as peony, lotus,
remains, one of the most challenging pigments employed chrysanthemum and hibiscus.
by Jingdezhen artisans, who had struggled to use it since its
advent in the early Ming dynasty. Although much favored A fourth waterpot of this type from the collection of
for its dazzling hue, underglaze-red was virtually abandoned C.P. Lin was included in the exhibition Elegant Form
after the Xuande period (1425-1435) due to its frustratingly and Harmonious Decoration, Percival David Foundation,
high failure rate and only revived around the 1670s on the London, 1992, cat. no. 113, having been previously sold
orders of the Kangxi Emperor. Still only made in the smallest in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 221,
of quantities for the imperial court and the wealthiest of and illustrated in Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Twenty Years
private buyers, these exceptional wares, experimental in 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 88; and another, from the
nature and spellbinding in quality, continue to be treasured collection of the Xuantong Emperor (r. 1909-11), was sold in
in important collections across the globe. these rooms, 16th April 1983, lot 488.
The Kangxi period also saw the innovation and formalizing of Waterpots of this form were also produced in other glaze
new canonical vessel forms. Building upon the experimental colors: compare a peachbloom-glazed example, formerly in
works of the Transitional and Early Qing periods, Kangxi era the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, in the National Gallery of
potters refined and reproduced a wide range of new forms Art, Washington, illustrated in John Ayers, ‘The Peachbloom
typified by their crisp rims and subtle curving forms. The Wares of the Kangxi Period (1622-1722)’, Transactions of
most celebrated eight (or nine) of these new designs are the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 64, 1999-2000, p. 47, fig.
collectively termed the Badama (‘Eight Great Numbers’) 33; and a clair-de-lune example in the Shanghai Museum,
by connoisseurs and were likely produced in complete illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai
sets, intended to adorn the studios and scholars’ desks Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 240.

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