the tall ovoid body rising from a short foot, elegantly sweeping up to a gently sloping shoulder and a waisted neck with flared rim, the body superbly painted with four vertical leafy sprays of alternating lotus and camellia, above entwined foliate strapwork with demi florets, the shoulder collared by pendent ruyi lappets below stylised florets around the neck, all divided by double line borders, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle, wood stand.

Note: A very similar example exhibited at the Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 113, was previously sold in our London rooms, 6th July 1976, lot 209, and in these rooms again, 10th April 2006, lot 1677.

Yongzheng vases of this cylindrical shape can be found decorated with a number of differently arranged flower scroll designs. See a vase of this form but with a band of mixed flower scroll painted on the body, from the T.Y. Chao collection, sold in these rooms, 19th May 1987, lot 275, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st October 1991, lot 831, included in the Exhibition of Ch'ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 62, and in the Exhibition of Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat. no. 84. For another design version of this type of vase see a blue and white Yongzheng vase sold in these rooms, 24th November 1987, lot 67, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 660, painted with a broad frieze of peaches and pomegranates.

Compare also a Yongzheng 'lantern-shaped' storage jar with a cover, decorated with sprays of auspicious fruits, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 104.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM