A pale-green-glazed carved 'lotus' stem dish, Qianlong seal mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams.
Finely potted with a dish of shallow rounded sides, the interior carved with a large stylised lotus blossom, surrounded by a symmetrical design of curled leafy tendrils and four smaller lotus blooms, raised on a tall spreading foot with further leafy tendrils, covered overall with an attractive even pale sea-green glaze, the side of the base with an Imperial underglaze-blue zhuanshu mark in a line. 17.8cm diam. Estimate HK$ 400,000 - 500,000 (€39,000 - 48,000). Unsold
The highly refined delicate pale green glaze of the present lot is an example of the technical development of glazes during the Qianlong period. While pale celadon glazes originated during the Tang Dynasty, research and development in the Qing Imperial kilns perfected a glaze recipe which resulted in a much smoother texture and a more subtle tone in colour. A decrease in iron content enabled kilns at Jingdezhen to achieve such a glaze. The present stem dish is also an example of the beautiful effect of how incised decoration is emphasized by the delicate translucent glaze pooling in the recesses that creates a darker tone.
A green-glazed stem dish of very similar form, decoration and mark was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2009, lot 1891. Another example of a similarly shaped tazza, Qianlong mark and of the period, but plain and with a more bluish-celadon glaze, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2012, lot 3045.
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. Hong Kong, Admiralty, 26 May 2014