Lot 181. A celadon-glazed double-gourd vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.
elegantly potted with a globular lower bulb rising to a waisted neck and a smaller upper bulb tapering to a narrow mouth, covered overall with a pale sea-green glaze draining to a white rim, the base with a seal mark in underglaze blue; 31.8 cm, 12 1/2 in.
Notes: This vase is remarkable for its luminous celadon glaze, the purity of which accentuates the graceful curves of its profile. A pair of vases of this type in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated in Suzanne G. Valenstein, The Herzman Collection of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1992, pl. 98; one, from the Zande Lou collection, was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Monochromes. The Zande Lou Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2005, cat. no. 42; a third, from the collection of Frederick J. and Antoinette H. Van Slyke, was sold in our New York rooms in 1989, and twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th April 1993, lot 80, and 8th April 2011, lot 3020; and a pair was sold in our New York rooms, 11th May 1978, lot 208. See also a slightly smaller vase of this type, in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 864.
A fine celadon-glazed double-gourd vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Sold 3,140,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2011, lot 3020. Photo: Sotheby's.
robustly potted with a compressed globular lower bulb, surmounted by a slightly smaller upper bulb gently rising to a narrow mouth, the exterior covered evenly in a lustrous glaze of a soft celadon tone, the recessed celadon-glazed base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark; 32.3 cm., 12 3/4 in.
Provenance:: Collection of Frederick J. & Antoinette H. Van Slyke.
Sotheby's New York, 31st May 1989, lot 167.
S. Marchant & Son Ltd., London, 1992.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th April 1993, lot 80.
Notes: A closely related vase with cover in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 69, and is illustrated in Zhongguo qingdai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2003, p. 341; and another is published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 160. See also a vase in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in Suzanne G. Valenstein, The Hertzman Collection of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1992, pl. 98; and a smaller example published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 160.
Compare also a vase from the Jingguantang collection, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 212, and illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 37, together with its pair, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 571. A slightly larger example was sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 142; and another was sold in these rooms, 29th April 1997, lot 581.
Vases of this form are also known with their matching covers, such as a vase in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 69; another published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 160; and a third from the Jingguantang collection, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 212, and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 723.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 09 nov. 2016, 11:30 AM