Ten best of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art @ Sotheby's Hong Kong

An Extremely Rare And Magnificent Robin’s Egg And Famille-Rose Revolving Vase. Seal Mark And Period of Qianlong. Photo Sotheby's

ingeniously crafted from three separate pieces fitted together, the freely turning body of globular form covered allover in a finely mottled turquoise and purple glaze, set between a ruby-ground neck and foot, the flared neck defly painted with scattered torch ginger lilies and lotus flowers borne on acathus leaf stems reserved on a sgraffiato feather ground incised through the ruby ground, flanked by a pair high-relief elephant-head handles, above a pendent ruyi-lappet collar, the foot similarly decorated with an upright ruyi-lappet skirt and detached floral sprigs, constructed with an tall cylindrical interior vase rising from the base and pinned to the interior wall of the neck, the mouth and base enamelled in turquoise with details trimmed in gold, the base with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue; 40 cm., 15 3/4 in. Estimate 30,000,000—40,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 70,100,000 HKD (8,987,1 79 USD) to an Asian Trade

A Fine And Extremely Rare Pair of Imitation Archaic Bronze ‘Ru’ Vases. Carved Seal Marks And Period of Qianlong. Photo Sotheby's

each well potted of oval section, modelled after archaic Western Zhou bronzes, the middle finely carved and moulded in low relief with a band of confronting and addorsed kui dragons, their bodies dissolving into geometric archaistic patterns of 'hooks and volutes', set between rows of raised bosses, the shoulder draped with a row of lappets, rising up to a slightly narrower neck collared by upright plantain leaves and a key-fret encircling the mouth, the neck flanked by a pair of thin kui dragon handles, all above further rows of ruyi heads, wan fret, leaves and key-fret around the tapered foot, covered overall with a semi-opaque caramel coloured glaze dusted with a light layer of gold giving an iridescent sheen, the base incised with a six-character reign mark, fitted with a domed cover of conforming shape, decorated with a similar dragons and lappets, surmounted by an upright ruyi-head finial; 37.5 and 38 cm., 14 3/4 and 15 in. Estimate 20,000,000—30,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 43,220,000 HKD (5,541,026 USD) to an Asian Private

PROVENANCE;Collection of Laurent Héliot.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 22^nd May 1979, lot 247.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17^th May 1988, lot 88.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Sotheby's Hong Kong, Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 358.
Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 162.

NOTE: Robust in form and decorated with stylised dragons derived from archaic ritual bronzes, this large pair of vases is rare for their imitation of gilt-bronze and is an impressive example of porcelains copying a metal prototype. Porcelain simulations of bronzes are more commonly known covered with a dark glaze to imitate plain or archaic patinated bronze, with gilt reserved for raised decorative elements. No other simulated gilt-bronze vase of this large shape and decoration appears to be recorded, although a fluted gu shape vase also covered entirely with flecked gilding and impressed with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period is published in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 252.

The form and design of the present vase is loosely based on archaic bronzes, which appear to have been the most popular amongst the many simulations created by the Imperial Workshops for the Qianlong Emperor. Ritual bronzes, particularly of the late Shang (c.1600-c.1050BC) and Western Zhou (c.1050-771BC) periods which the emperor collected, inspired precise trompe-l'oeil copies as well as 'modern' interpretations like the present vase. Bronze shapes and design elements equally entered the general repertoire of Qianlong porcelain and provided inspiration for vessels otherwise unrelated to the ancient metal versions. Soame Jenyns in Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, p. 60, mentions that a stone tablet was excavated in Jingdezhen in 1915 titled 'Orders and Memoranda on Porcelain' in which Tang Ying, Superintendent at the Imperial Kilns in Jingdezhen, discusses his efforts to simulate bronze vessels.

Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes and the dexterity of Qianlong craftsmen is evident in the layered application of colour in the present vases to capture a naturalistic sheen of gilt bronzes. Typically this technique would be combined with a mottled turquoise or green glaze to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork. The design of these vases fuses archaic designs with later decorative elements: whereas the almost abstract scrolls of dragons derive from bronze design, the bands of lappets and stiff leaves are firmly rooted in the Ming tradition while the contemporary tastes of the Qing period are seen in the ruyi-head motif.

Compare a massive vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, echoing an archaic bronze zun with the stiff leaves on the neck and foot and dragon scroll of the belly picked out in gilt, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, 1989, p. 414, pl. 95, together with a bronze simulation zun, p. 412, pl. 93, and a bell, p. 415, pl. 96. A tripod censer of Qianlong mark and period decorated with similar stylised dragons in gilt is included in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 282, pl. 486. See also a large robin's egg-ground gilt decorated archaistic vase, with a related band of dragons between bands of ruyi, lappets and bats, from the collection of J.T. Tai, sold in these rooms, 7^th October 2010, lot 2128, and formerly from the collections of Lord Loch of Drylaw, Alfred Morrison and Lord Margadale.

A smaller white glazed vase of similar form and decoration, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, produced in imitation of white jade was included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Monochrome Ceramics of Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 141; and another, with a cover, was sold in these rooms, 14^th November 1989, lot 1997.

A Fine And Magnificent Large Blue And White ‘Dragon’ Vase. Seal Mark And Period of Qianlong. Photo Sotheby's

well potted of elongated pear shape with a swelling body sweeping up to a slender neck, exquisitely painted in vivid cobalt-blue with five sinuous five-clawed dragons animatedly posing in various positions around the vase amidst a dense lotus ground, all between a band of waves and pendant ruyi heads encircling the mouth and waves and 'classic' scroll skirting the foot, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue; 46 cm., 18 1/8 in. Estimate 20,000,000—30,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 29,780,000 HKD (3,81 7,949 USD) to an Asian Private

PROVENANCE: Mrs. Christian Holmes Collection.
William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, January 1966.
Evelyn Annenberg-Hall Collection.
Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 169.

NOTE: This magnificent dragon vase is especially fine for its elegant slender form and unusually large size. A related example painted with a similar design but with a mixed flower scroll rendered in underglaze red, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 209.

This piece belongs to a special group of vases produced during the Qianlong period, with elongated tall neck and pear-shaped body. Examples can be found in important museums and collections worldwide and each vase within the group appears to be uniquely decorated; for example see one painted with figures in a landscape, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated ibid., pl. 119; another decorated with a composite floral motif sold in these rooms, 2^nd May 1984; and a third example adorned with a flower scroll design in the Ming style, from the collection of Jolan Hennings, sold at Christie's New York, 9^th November 1978, lot 97, and again in these rooms, 25^th November 1981, lot 224.

The present vase is notable for its dynamic design of dragons amongst floral scrolls, a motif that is known from fifteenth century blue and white wares and which was revived under the Qianlong emperor. See a blue and white tianqiuping decorated with dragons and scrolling lotus, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 72; and a hu vase sold in these rooms, 16^th May 1989, lot 271; and another sold in our London rooms, 9^th November 2000, lot 327. The effectiveness of the overall design of the present vase is also due to the brilliant deep blue cobalt, which reflects the high level of technical achievement attained by the craftsman.

Vessels of this form were also made covered in monochrome glaze; for example see a large Qianlong flambé-glazed vase, in the Nanjing Museum, included in Zhongguo Qingdai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2003, p. 345; another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 345; and a third flambé-glazed vase decorated in gilt with a floral motif, from the Qing Court collection is illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 393, pl. 74.

A Blue And White ‘Lotus Petalled’ Mouth Bottle Vase. Yongzheng Mark And Period. Photo Sotheby's

very finely potted with an almost globular body resting on a wide splayed footring and rising smoothly to a tall slender neck encircled by a single raised fillet and modelled at the mouth in the form of a lotus pod enclosed by nine moulded petals, the centre of the pod with a low lipped rim forming the mouth of the vase, applied on the shoulders with two lion masks supporting mock ring handles, the main field of the body finely painted in underglaze blue of vibrant tone with 'heaping and piling', in imitation of early Ming decoration, with a composite floral meander, including lotus, camellia, mallow, hibiscus and rose, on slender stems with curling leaves, all between a border of stiff upright lappets, each enclosing a string of five pearls against the blue ground, and a band of waves below the raised white fillet, a classic scroll around the foot, the upper neck painted to correspond to the modelling with overlapping petals, the thick clear glaze evenly suffused with bubbles giving a fine 'orange-peel' effect to the glossy surface, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within double circles in underglaze-blue; 34.7 cm., 13 5/8 in. Estimate 20,000,000—30,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 23,060,000 HKD (2,956,410 USD) to an Asian Private

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong,15^th May, 1990, lot 135.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29^th April, 1997, lot 408

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Sotheby's Hong Kong, Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 171.
Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 265.

NOTE: No other blue and white vase of this elegant form appears to have been published although Yongzheng vases of the same form and with the same mark are known with a variety of fine monochrome glazes.

Compare the vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, decorated in relief under a celadon glaze with archaistic dragons, phoenix and scrolls below a band of stiff leaves, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, 1989, p 270, pl. 99, together with a second vase with a plain's robin's egg glaze, p. 291, pl. 120 ; an undecorated celadon-glazed vase was included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, 1994, cat. no. 331 ; another celadon example is illustrated in Ayers, The Baur Collection Geneva. Chineses Ceramics, vol. III, 1972, nos. A362-3, together with a teadust-glazed piece, no A391 ; and a flambé-glazed vase in Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1980, col. 65.

The shape may be based on a bronze prototype which, however, would have had a lobed 'garlic-head' mouth instead of the raised lotus petals. Chenghua blue and white porcelain would have also served as inspiration; for example see a vase of related form to the present example, the pear-form body rising to a lotus bud shaped mouth with raised overlapping layers of petals, and the body freely painted with lotus blooms on meandering leafy stems, sold in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1557.

Ming style decoration of this type can similarly be seen on other fine Yongzheng vases; for example, on a piece in Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, 1989, p. 174, pl. 3.

A Fine And Very Rare Blue And White ‘Lotus’ Temple Vase, Ming Dynasty, Chenghua Period.  Photo Sotheby's

the pear-shaped body supported on high splayed foot decorated with florets, each within four radiating leaves evenly spaced in three rows, the sides with an overall design of meandering lotus stems bearing upright blooms among numerous curling leaves, above a bold band of lappets alternately enclosing pomegranate motifs, the tall flared neck encircled around the waist with horizontal double lines enclosing a peach sprig on one side and a peony spray on the other and set with two rings pendent from loop handles springing from the jaws animal's heads picked out in blue, a band of blue ground ruyi lappets reserved with stylised lotus sprays and hung with beaded pendents extending from the galleried rim encircled with a key-fret border between plain raised bands, the underglaze-blue of bright tone; 39 cm., 15 3/8 in. Estimate 18,000,000—25,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 23,060,000 HKD (2,956,410 USD) to an Asian Private

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's London, 11^th December 1979, lot 278.
Collection of L. A. Basmadgieff.

NOTE: Chenghua porcelains remain amongst the rarest of all Ming wares and the present vase is exceptional for its shape and design. It is also special for its magnificent large size, a testament to the high level of technical skills achieved by artisans working in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. While Ming Imperial porcelains of the 15th century represent undoubtedly a peak of quality, beauty and inventiveness in the history of Chinese ceramics, Chenghua porcelain stands out among other things for the smooth and tactile quality of its glaze, which has not been matched in other periods. The pleasing glaze surface, combined with the expertly painted of the decoration make Chenghua pieces a delight to look at and to touch.

Only one other closely related vase appears to be recorded; possibly the pair to the present piece, sold at Christie's London, 4th November 2008, lot 155. The shape closely follows an earlier, Hongwu period, vase with ring-handles and decorated with a large sinuous dragon amongst clouds in underglaze-red, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, included in the Exhibition of Ceramics throughout China's History from the Shanghai Museum, Seibu Art Museum, Tokyo, 1984, cat. no. 70; and another, the pair to the Shanghai Museum vase, in the Avery Brundage collection, San Francisco, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, col. pl. 6. Another earlier vase of related form but lacking the loose rings and painted with peony scrolls in underglaze-blue is published in Friedrich Reichel, 'Porzellane der Fruhen Ming-zeit in der Dresdener Porzellansammlung', Keramos, no. 43, January 1969, pl. 6.

The majority of Chenghua pieces that have survived are small utility wares such as bowls, cups and dishes. Vases of this period are extremely rare, and those in good condition even more unusual. Amongst surviving larger vessels see a bottle with a long neck and painted with phoenixes amongst lotus scrolls in underglaze-blue, illustrated in The Emperor's Broken China Reconstructing Chenghua Porcelain, London, 1995, cat. no. 47, together with a fragmentary ewer of the period, pl. 48.

Design elements seen on the present vase are repeated on a blue and white cup with sprigs of fan-lian type lotus, included in the Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, 1465-1487, Taipei, 2003, pl. 55; and on a washer with formal lotus scroll motif, ibid., pl. 45.

A Magnificent And Exceptionally Large Gilt Bronze Figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Ming Dynasty. l5th-l6th Century. Photo Sotheby's

of superlative casting and finish, the high-backed near-life-sized figure emanating power and spiritual energy in its naturalistic proportions, the massive figure cast seated in dhyanasana on a waisted pedestal encircled by two tiers of elaborate lotus lappets between bands of pearlised bosses, the left hand in dhyanamudra, the mudra of meditation, and the right hand bent with palm down before the right knee in bhumisparsamudra, the 'earth-witnessing' gesture, his torso draped in a loose robe, falling across one arm and around the shoulders while leaving the chest bare, the robes skilfully chased and incised with bold lotus-scroll bands and detailed borders of composite flowers at the hem, cascading onto the base in crisp folds, some turning over to reveal the finely punched diaper with chevron border of the interior lining, the serene face with a hollowed urna above downcast eyes and a bow-shaped mouth, the flanking ears with pendulous lobes pierced with vertical slots, the tightly curled hair depicted through an array of small bossed whorls piling high upon a domed ushnisha below a spherical cintamani 'jewel' finial, brilliantly gilded overall except for the hair, which bears traces of blue pigment, the urna later inset with ruby stud, pedestal stand; 94 cm., 37 in. Estimate 2,500,000—3,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 20,820,000 HKD (2,669.231 USD) to an Asian Private

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15th May 1990, lot 358.
Collection of an Important Private Trust, Hong Kong.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th October 2000, lot 19.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 429, pp. 360-361.

NOTE: The present figure remains among the largest extant gilt-bronze seated Buddha images cast during the Ming dynasty, and notwithstanding the lack of a reign mark, represents a major commission and technical accomplishment that could only have been instigated and sponsored by Imperial patronage, most likely for a significant temple in the Tibetan monastic tradition within China.

By contrast, within Tibet, monumental Buddha images were created not in bronze but in alloys of high copper content, and not through a single 'pour' as with this figure, but through assembling component parts, which were frequently constructed through repoussé techniques. Larger domestic Chinese bronze figures are known, but mainly without gilding, and in the non-imperial or domestic style such as the famous crowned Buddha in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and several others sited in the open air in the Okura Shokukan, Tokyo, and a pair of the Shakyamuni Buddha and the Amitabha Buddha in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Mount Desert Island, Maine, which now display characteristic greenish bronze patina instead. One of the Rockefeller bronzes, with hands in the meditation mudra, was recently published in A Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller Legacy, Asia Society, New York, 2006, pp. 108-109, while the second Rockefeller bronze, with hands in similar earth-witnessing mudra is illustrated p. 85.

This iconographic form in which the historical Buddha is seated with his right hand in the earth-touching position, bhumisparsa mudra, recalls a momentous episode from his spiritual biography in which he triumphs over Mara just prior to his enlightenment. Having vowed to remain in meditation until he penetrated the mystery of existence, Shakyamuni was visited by Mara, a demon associated with the veils and distractions of mundane existence. The Buddha remained unmoved by all the pleasant and unpleasant distractions with which Mara sought to deflect him from his goal. According to some traditional accounts, Mara's final assault consisted of an attempt to undermine the bodhisattva's sense of worthiness by questioning Shakyamuni's entitlement to seek the lofty goal of spiritual enlightenment and the consequent freedom from rebirth. Aided by spirits who reminded him of the countless compassionate efforts he had made on behalf of sentient beings throughout his numerous animal and human incarnations, Shakyamuni recognised that it was his destiny to be poised on the threshold of enlightenment. In response to Mara's query therefore, Shakyamuni moved his right hand from the meditation position in his lap and touched the ground, stating, "the earth is my witness." This act of unwavering resolve caused Mara and his army of demons and temptresses to disperse, leaving Shakyamuni to experience his Great Enlightenment. The episode took place at the Adamantine Throne, vajrasana, beneath a bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, in eastern India, a location said to have been especially empowered to expedite the Buddha's enlightenment. It is this precise instance of triumph that the present gilt-bronze image embodies.

When smaller Buddha images with this mudra appear in groups of five, as Tathagata Buddhas representing various spiritual aspects or principles rather than personages, it would then represent Aksobhya, who resides in the Eastern Paradise, in the direction of the rising sun, embodying the subjugation of passions and inner awakening. An image of the present size is, however, unlikely to have belonged to a set of five; it may rather be related to contemporary Tibetan thangkas showing a similarly large central image of Shakyamuni in 'earth-witnessing' gesture. As such, the present figure possesses the same triumphant aura and stylized formal composition as a thangka from Western Tibet, formerly in the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck collection, now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, included in the exhibition, Wisdom & Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1991, cat.no. 4.

The treatment of the robes in both the thangka and the present figure, with hooded right shoulder and flat folds under a tightly bound waist, differs significantly from the two other extant large Buddhas of closely related size. Both are of Yongle mark and period, with their original stepped bases and pierced mandorlas. One is in the British Museum, illustrated in Zwalf, Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, 1985, cat.no. 305 and color frontispiece; and the other figure was sold Hotel Drouot, Paris, 26th June 1994, lot 284, and again sold from the Speelman Collection, in these rooms, 7th October, 2006, lot 808 which trumped the world record previously held by the present image to a new level of HK$116.6 million (US$15.1 million). Nonetheless, neither of those two figures closely match the present figure in proportion and monumentality.

 

A Superb Blue And White ‘Bajixiang’ Moonflask, Seal Mark And Period of Qianlong. Photo Sotheby's

the circular body rising from a splayed rectangular foot to a cylindrical neck flanked by a pair of 'S'-scroll handles, finely painted in varying tones of cobalt-blue enhanced by simulated 'heaping and piling', each side centred on a large boss with a floral medallion comprising ruyi-shaped petals, enclosed within a narrow lappet border and bold lotus petal panels containing the Eight Buddhist Emblems, bajixiang, surrounded by a key-fret border, the flat sides with a narrow band of leafy scrolls issuing lotus blooms, the neck and foot each painted with a lingzhi scroll and krey-fret around the rim, inscribed on the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue; 49.5 cm., 19 1/2 in. Estimate 10,000,000—15,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 17,460,000 HKD (2,238,462 USD) to an Asian Trade

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's London, 11th December 1990, lot 327.
Christie's Hong Kong, 3/4thNovember 1996, lot 775.

NOTE: The present exquisitely painted moonflask ranks amongst the finest examples of blue and white wares made during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. The central design is inspired by early Ming decoration, such as that seen on the interior of a Yongle period blue and white basin, in the collection of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey, Taipei, 1996, p. 219, no. 398. In its form, it is also after Yongle vessels that were inspired and based on a Middle-Eastern metal prototypes. However, it is worth noting that this flask was also copied and made in silver during the Qianlong period; see a silver moonflask sold in our London rooms, 11^th June 1996, lot 139.

A closely related Qianlong mark and period flask is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 151; another is included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 1, Taipei, 1981, pl. 5; and a third is published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 949. See also a flask from the collection of Edward T. Chow sold in these rooms, 19^th May 1981, lot 544; and another sold in our London rooms, 11^th December 1990, lot 327.

A Fine Sacrificial-Blue Olive Shape Vase. Mark And Period of Yongzheng. Photo Sotheby's

beautifully potted, the profile rising in three elegant curves to incorporate the body swelling from the splayed foot and tapering gracefully below the trumpet mouth, covered overall in a rich and deep indigo blue, the interior and underside glazed white, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 40.8 cm., 16 in. Estimate 2,500,000—3,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 16,340,000 HKD (2,094,872 USD) to an Asian Trade

NOTE: Vases of this elegant shape are specific to the Yongzheng period and these rare vessels were glazed and decorated in various ways to result in some of the finest pieces of the time. The present example is exceptional for its large size and brilliant even glaze; a white-glazed vase of this form and size, with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, was sold in these rooms, 10^th April 2006, lot 1617; and a slightly larger white-glazed example in the Meiyintang collection is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, pt. II, London, 2010, pl. 1779. Two smaller Yongzheng vases of this form in the Palace Museum, Beijing, include one covered with copper-red and another with a Guan-type glaze, are illustrated in Qingdai yuyao ciqi, vol. 1, pt. 2, Beijing, 2005, pls 9 and 157 respectively. For the forerunner of this vase see a carved white-glazed example attributed to the Kangxi period, of slightly more slender form and elongated neck and with an apocryphal Chenghua reign mark, published in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, pl. 185.

Vases of this form are also known with the fruiting and flowering peach branches and bats painted in underglaze blue; for example see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated op. cit., pl. 29; another in the Shanghai Museum published in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 175; and a third from the J.M. Hu collection, sold in our New York rooms, 4^th June 1985, lot 25, and again from the collection of Robert Chang, Christie's Hong Kong, 31^st October 2000, lot 815. A unique famille-rose decorated vase of this form and peach design, from the Hon. Ogden R. Reid collection, and now in the Shanghai Museum, was sold in these rooms, 7^th May 2002, lot 532.

A White Jade Brushpot With Scholars In Landscape Qing Dynasty, 18th Century.  Photo Sotheby's  

of cylindrical form the exterior meticulously carved in relief with a continuous landscape of scholar seated in a pavilion admiring the mandarin ducks in the pond, while two attendants on the other bank hold floral sprigs, the reverse with an immortal and his attendant strolling in the mountains, the lustrous stone of an even creamy white tone with natural inclusions, wood stand; 14 cm., 5 1/2 in. Estimate 4,000,000—6,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 12,980,000 HKD  (1,664,103 USD) to an Asian Trade

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30^th November 1980, lot 513.

NOTE: The decoration of the present brushpot follows in the tradition of Chinese painting, by treating the surface of the material as a scroll work. With each turn of the brushpot the scene unfolds in front of the viewer, making it an object that can be appreciated from different sides. The technique of working in multiple layers was utilised in the creation of this piece which heightens the sense of depth and the detailing is meticulously executed and refined. Moreover, the broad areas of rocks which have been left uncarved provide a striking aesthetic contrast with the intricately modelled trees and figures as well as exhibiting the high quality of the stone.

White jade brushpots similarly depicting figures in an enchanting mountainous setting include a slightly smaller example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the exhibition The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 60; another included in the exhibition A Romance of Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 2; and a larger brushpot in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pl. 64. Compare also a related brushpot of slightly smaller dimensions, but supported on three ruyi feet, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 167.

A Very Rare Massive Ru-Type Handled Vase, Fanghu. Seal Mark And Period of Yongzheng. Photo Sotheby's

of square section with rounded corners, the pear-shaped body supported on a high double-pierced foot with a lipped edge, the slopped shoulder decorated with two pairs of horizontal raised fillets, the neck flanked by a pair of facetted lug handles with raised edges, all beneath a lipped mouth, covered inside and out with a finely-crackled greyish-blue glaze, transmuting to a more intense shade of blue in the recesses, the countersunk base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue; 63.5 cm., 25 in. Estimate ,500,000—3,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 12,980,000 HKD (1.664.103 USD) to an Asian Trade

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20^th May 1980, lot 105.

NOTE: The present vase is remarkable for its large size and lustrous even glaze and no other vase of this type appears to have been published. The Qing period saw a flowering of monochrome-glazed porcelains and under the Yongzheng emperor many glaze types found on earlier stonewares were revived. The greyish-blue tones of this vase is inspired by the celebrated 'Ru' ware from Henan, the official ware of the Northern Song (960-1127) and the rarest of all the Song dynasty official wares.

For smaller Yongzheng vases of this form and glaze, see two sold in these rooms, one 23^rd October 2005, lot 319; and the other sold three times, 29^th November 1976, lot 525, again 21^st May 1979, lot 110, and again, 3^rd May 1994, lot 110. Compare further smaller vases of this form, with Yongzheng reign marks and of the period; such as and Ge-type glaze in the National Palace Museum, included in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 63; a Guan-type glazed example sold twice in these rooms, 14^th November 1983, lot 135, and again, 29^th April 1997, lot 577; and another with a Guan-type glaze from the Cleveland Museum of Art, sold at Christie's New York, 21^st September 2000, lot 360.

For the prototype of this vase, which was originally inspired by the archaic bronze hu, see the Longquan celadon example of similar form included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Sung Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum. Lung-ch'uan Ware, Ko Ware and Other Wares, Taipei, 1974, pl. 1.

Sotheby's. Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 08 Apr 11, Hong Kong www.sothebys.com