Page 55 - Fine Imperial Porcelain at Sothebys Hong Kong April 3 2019

fig. 1
Jun sky-glazed hexagonal flower pot, late Ming dynasty
© Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing

Jun ware, which derives its beauty from the striking and Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection
thick opaque glaze of varied bright blue coloration, was of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song
made in Junzhou Prefecture (present Yuzhou), Henan Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 22 (fig. 1). Shards of these
province. Among the products of these kilns are a small six-footed hexagonal pots, were also excavated in 1974 at
number of flower pots such as the present piece, which Juntai, Yuzhou, and illustrated in Selection of Jun Ware. The
were inscribed on the underside before firing with a Chinese Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation,
numeral ranging from one (the largest) to ten (the smallest), Beijing, 2013, pl. 81. Flower pots of this hexagonal shape is
indicative of their size and matching stands; hence their extremely rare, as they are usually known in deeper, lobed
name ‘Numbered Jun’ wares. mallow-shaped forms, such as one sold in these rooms 8th
April 2013, lot 3046.
Traditionally ascribed to the Northern Song dynasty, there
has been much debate on the dating of numbered ‘Jun’ Much admired from the Qing dynasty onwards, these
wares, however recent research seems to confirm a 15th Jun flower pots continue to elicit appreciation as well as
century date. As explained in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming 50 provocation. The Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors were
Years That Changed China, British Museum, London, 2014, great admirers of these fascinating vessels of opalescence.
pp. 92-97, examples of this numbered group have not been According to the records of the Imperial Palace Workshops
found in any context other than the Beijing palace. None (Zaobanchu) dated to the 21st year of the Qianlong reign
have been discovered elsewhere in China or farther afield, (1756), the Emperor would command original numerals
nor have any been excavated from tombs. Additionally the engraved on these flower pots to be effaced and incised with
method of construction using double moulds did not exist new numbers. There are currently about 20 vessels with
until the early 15th century when it was created by potters these later engraved numbers known, all dispersed amongst
at the Henan kilns. The author concludes that they were the Emperor’s studies, residences and gardens. A hexagonal
commissioned by the Yongle and Xuande Emperors for the stand of this form but in larger size, with its original numeral
new imperial palace where they were displayed and admired qi (seven) effaced and engraved later in the Qianlong period
throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. with a Yangxindian (Hall of Mental Cultivation) mark, from
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is included in the
A slightly larger flower pot of this hexagonal form inscribed museum’s exhibition, The Enchanting Splendor of Vases and
with the Chinese numeral ba (eight) on the base, from
the Qing court collection and now preserved in the Palace Planters: A Special Exhibition of Flower Vessels from the Ming
and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 2014, pl. I-07.

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